
% 


-y.s' a &*• 


*A r , t » * * 

.<J* ♦WTfe,* *%, 

'J* N it'rx/wy ^ 

V . - v* cr 


^ »e* S 

Cr & 0 w ® * *& ,».»«- ^ 

C .*SW„ O J* A- 

". ^o V* * 


^5 ^ 


*° . . . rv % v h , . . %*‘"^!v^v o . . . 

*> \> * : ••- c\ a 9 »* * n L% *> v % 

'jPmsS*,* A <&. v * • -p. r*. a. 




* 4? * 

• ^ ’ 4 V Vi, 

^ & \ ... 
Cr o 0 * 0 * ^o 
0 • o 



% ^ A* 


■w* 




® o 

^ <* «. 

*’ <v ^. 7« .G v ^ 

a^ • 1 ^ .Qr c °_* ® * 

<$ + 71 


<P_ 

* <5 ^ ■* 

4 V *- 


^ - 
<xy o * 

^ o .u >.-» 

ri*a*. %. -i.9 ..lii'* *> 


* ^ y .7 **. '*^.A , « 


; j.° V. •„ 

♦ rj| A * 


o v *h * 





• 4 J t O ** ~ ^ 

® « ° 4^) 4 '»|1* A ( 

v ,: -'A ^ 

: ; 



4, • ' 1 

- o ,9 

’“0 V,<£ / 


vL-A’^V* “ " ° ° v^’ 

V .# * 



<r % - w .. 

c 0 * ' 1 * o , I. • * - 0 * o 

'■<^t><- ° . 4 * ^ 0 ° .‘&S&I* °o 

o > • mm^iCsfc < v* cr ° /ix ^^ 1L ^ ft w 

* « _ • __ 

v*, 

1 O'' -»- « <i tT- O t .'-£6/J/<*’* rC> ^ ^*. 

■•#• • ' 1 .. V »• «.» & % ^ 

<0 % + _> </■ * » • o* O 4 0 ” - s • * r •* 

^ <* 'OM' % # *^Va’” \ & 

, „ - v**sr .*^|^ 0 , 

■ % °MW/ \ 



<X 




o V 


: 




• -O^ o _0 **V % - xxvvo- « - I 

*. -..O’ ^ O -,,,•’ ^ 0 J V'-.TTo ^ 

V **•©* cv ,0 *»•*'* 

^ a * 


V>^n - 
& * 




A r ^ ° 

* ^ o 

. ...» Va o -o * * 

«v^l*V- f nS -^ cS 




• ** 

: v^ v • 

• C^^rv 

* <v> • 

•* .o’- \ •-. 



; / 

ri* <> * fl.** C • * ~tsz/v — * 

% *«*»* ,<J? ©,, *.,,*’ a 0 - 

-> V V . * • •„ . 0 * , 

^ A * a m n Ay v 

* '*$> ♦rtCv»« A cy ♦ 

^ * JS>\££y/A © 


w' u vp 9 

<•<? - 
•S A/ '{a « 

. * ,4? d» + 

jS> <> * 

(y & 0 * a * **Q 

c **^t)<' 01 

.°«^^| 0 *. v b V . 


\v '°^. -»'<■>*’ A 0-1 V'-o.o- ■?, 

- *•». c\ ,o V "> v' 



.» - >° ’ 5 k. * 


* •#• A < 

' V^ v « 


* o * 1 *^ yv^t-, -r 


- c-S 

■» <7 '-C> » 

4 <L V -» 

. 0 * V ♦, 
oa ^u^: *bv* . 



^ *•'!*»•' A 0 

o. vr , 

’o, A 7 ^ 





X 












* 







) , 




- 
















































. 

























































































- / 













«%•* 








■ 






















' 




















MISER HOADLEY’S SECRET 


Popular Novels 

BT 

Arthur W. Marchmont 


By Right of Sword 
A Dash for a Throne 


A Heritage of Peril 
Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

Each volume graphically illustrated 
Bound in cloth, $1.25. Paper covers, 50 cts. 




. 





- 





- 





















Marion, do you trust me ? ” 

Frontispiece 


Os© 

Miser Hoadley’s Secret 



A DETECTIVE STORY 



BY 


ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT 

M 

Author of “ By Right of Sword,” “ A Dash 
for a Throne,” “The Heritage of Peril.” 



ILLUSTRATED 


NEW AMSTERDAM BOOK COMPANY 

New York City : 1902 





Copyright 1902 

BY 

The New Amsterdam Book Co. 



TW«SF£RRED FgQg 
ROOM 

M » 1920 


Miser Hoadley's Secret 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Prologue — I. The Threat i 

II. For Freedom 5 

CHAPTER 

I. No. 50 Clergy- street, Clerkenwell ... 9 

II. In Fear of Death 20 

III. “ Marion, Did you ever Hear Me Mention the 

Name of Linnegan ? ” 24 

IV. Marion's Father does not come Home . . 37 

V. Marion Learns the Truth 48 

VI. “ There is Death in the Room ” . . . .58 

VII. A Surprise at the Bank 71 

VIII. Examined by the Police 82 

IX. Ralph Counsels Inaction 92 

X. Ezra Gibeon 106 

XI. Mrs. Bloxam no 


IV 


Contents 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XII. Burglary at Morris-place 127 

XIII. A Perilous Resolve 136 

XIV. Marion's Vigil at Clergy-street . . . .144 

XV. A Terrible Surprise 156 

XVI. My Name is Linnegan, James Linnegan . . 166 

XVII. Marion Solves the Cipher 176 

XVIII. The Search at Clergy-street .... 190 

XIX. A Race for Wealth 198 

XX. £30,000 209 

XXI. The Arrest of Linnegan 218 

XXII. A Trap 229 

XXIII. Marion in Danger 240 

XXIV. A Risky Stratagem 251 

XXV. In Imminent Peril 262 

XXVI. A Fight for Life 273 

XXVII. After the Rescue 282 

XXVIII. Ralph Gething's Story 293 

XXIX. The End 301 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

“ Now, then, what’s your little game 'ere ? ” . . .162 

It was the man she had seen in the tramcar, and before she 
could call out he had drawn a revolver and held it against 
her head ......... 208 

He ** had a mind, jest to give a kiss when the old woman was 
out of the way” ....... 260 

“ Marion, do you trust me ? ” ..... 294 




Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

PROLOGUE 

I 

THE THREAT 

“ Silence ! Silence ! ” called the ushers, stilling the 
hum of conversation in the sparsely attended Criminal 
Court, during the absence of the jury to consider their 
verdict in a case of attempted murder. 

As the jury filed back into the Court, the prisoner — a 
man of about middle height, but wiry and very muscular 
in build, with a taciturn, sullen look in his face — watched 
them with an expression more suggestive of curiosity 
than anxiety. It seemed as if he was, or wished to 
appear, indifferent about the verdict. 

The judge took his seat on the bench, and, after the 
usual formal questions, the foreman announced the 
verdict. 

“ Guilty ! ” 

There was a slight murmur in the Court, and an old 


i 


2 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

man who was sitting near the jury-box, and had been 
anxiously and intently observing them, turned, with a 
sigh of relief, and looked across at the prisoner in 
the dock. Then he pressed both his hands on an old 
stick he was carrying, and bent his head down, only 
glancing up for a minute when the judge began to ad- 
dress the prisoner, to pass sentence. 

“ James Linnegan, the jury have found you guilty on 
all the counts of the indictment, and with that verdict 
I agree entirely. Your offence is most heinous. But 
for the fact that the witness, Bloxam, interrupted you at 
the time, there is little doubt but that you would be on 
your trial, not merely for wounding this old man, Simeon 
Hoadley, but for murdering him. Your crime was a 
most deliberate one, deliberately planned and deliberately 
executed. You went to the house with murder in your 
thoughts; and when the first shot that you fired at your 
intended victim, missed him, you fired a second and 
wounded him; and you were in the very act of firing a 
third time, when you were stopped by the woman Bloxam. 
You are a most dangerous man ; and in such a case I feel 
compelled to pass a severe sentence. The sentence of the 
court is that you be sent to penal servitude for the term 
of twenty years.” 

The prisoner had not raised his head once during the 
short harangue of the judge, but when he heard the terri- 
ble sentence, he looked up, first at the judge, and thei} 
round the court in a half-dazed manner. His face went 
white as death, and he clutched for an instant at the 
rail in front of him, and then the blood rushed back to his 
face, and he cried out almost hysterically. 


3 


Prologue — The Threat 

“Twenty years! Twenty years! For nothing ?” 

The ushers repeated their calls for silence; but every 
eye turned to the dock, where the prisoner was struggling 
in a fit of absolutely ungovernable frenzy. 

He broke away from the warders who had gone to 
remove him, and clinging to the dock rail with one hand, 
he pointed the other at the old man sitting near the jury 
box. 

“ I’m innocent. It was they who tried to murder me,” 
he shouted, at the top of his voice, pointing to the old 
man and the woman Bloxam, who was sitting beside him. 
“Twenty years! My God, why, I did nothing! But I 
will do it. Do you hear me, Simeon Hoadley? I’ll have 
your life for this, I swear. If you’re not dead when I 
come out, I’ll swing for you, I swear I will ; if it’s twenty 
years hence.” 

The old man cowered and trembled and covered his 
face with his hands in evident fear, and dared not even 
look up at the prisoner, who fought and struggled with 
the constables in the dock, and screamed out threats and 
curses in a very paroxysm of rage, until he had been 
forced down the dock steps. Even after he had dis- 
appeared, his shouts and cries continued to reach the 
court, only dying away gradually, as he was carried off 
to the cells. 

The old man sat on, taking no heed that the court was 
being cleared, until presently one of the attendants came 
to him, and touched him on the shoulder, saying they 
were waiting for him to go, in order to close the place. 

“ Is he safely locked up? ” he asked, white even to the 
lips with fear. 


4 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ Yes, he’s safe enough now,” answered the man smil- 
ing. “ And so are you mister, for twenty years to come.” 

“ Thank heaven for that ! ” exclaimed Simeon Hoadley 
in reply, as he drew his hand across his parched dry lips 
and rose to leave the court. 


ir 


FOR FREEDOM 

“ Fall in there ; fall in ! ” 

A heavy mist had come down suddenly on the moor- 
land, and the wardens in charge of a gang of convicts 
were anxious to get them back to the prison without delay. 

“ Fall in, at once ! ” came the command, in loud tones 
of authority. 

The men hung back a little, and one or two seemed to 
hesitate about obeying the order. The mist deepened 
every moment, and the warders, growing more and more 
anxious, hurried hither and thither, urging the men to 
fall in at once. 

A few of the convicts stood in a group, talking to- 
gether in low tones. Then one of them, a tall, burly, 
powerful man, called out — 

‘'Boys, who’ll make a dash for liberty? We shan’t 
have a better chance if we wait for years. Say, who’ll 
follow me?” 

“ I will,” called out one man. “ And I, and I,” shouted 
others. 

“ Stand back, there,” rang out the voice of the chief 
warder, as he levelled his rifle at the ring-leader. “ Stand 
back, or I fire.” 

“ Come on, boys ! ” was the man’s response to the 
threat, as he rushed upon the warder. The latter fired 

5 


6 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


point blank at him, but in the confusion of the moment 
missed his aim, and the next minute his rifle was dashed 
out of his hands, and he himself was knocked down. 

“ Hurrah ! Down with the beggars ! ” shouted the 
big convict, as he leaped over the fallen man, and rushed 
to head an attack upon the rest of the warders, who 
were standing together with their rifles leveled at the 
approaching convicts. The first success, in disarming, 
and overcoming the chief warder, had set the men’s blood 
on fire ; they were mad with the hope of liberty, and paid 
no heed to the rifles. 

“ Now, boys, all together ! ” shouted the ring-leader. 
“ Well soon bowl these chaps over.” 

“ What’s the good?” cried one of them. “We can’t 
get away, if we do. Don’t try it, mate.” 

“ Who's that traitor ? Down with the spy. Down 
with the jailor’s lick-spittle. Who spoke then?” 

“ I did,” answered the man, “ and I mean it. I’m no 
spy ; but I’m no fool, either.” 

“ Knock him on the head ; brain him with your spade,” 
cried several of the men. 

This altercation stayed the onward rush of the men 
for a moment; but only for a moment; then several of 
them rushed forward, and a fierce fight ensued. 

Meanwhile, one or two of the convicts had set upon the 
warder, who had been already knocked down; and the 
man who had spoken against the whole attempt, seeing 
this, ran to the fallen man’s assistance. 

“ Shame on ye, mates ! ” he cried, as he seized the man’s 
gun, and stood over him, brandishing the weapon to 
defend the man and himself from their onslaught. 


Prologue — For Freedom 7 

“ Shame on ye ! Would ye kill a man that can’t defend 
himself? ” 

“ Out of the way, or we’ll kill you, you spy,” growled 
a villainous looking ruffian, raising his spade and aiming 
a deadly blow at the other. The man parried the blow, 
and then knocked the ruffian senseless with the butt end 
of the gun. The rest raised a howl of baffled rage, and 
rushed upon him in a body. He fought valiantly and 
with extraordinary agility and skill, and succeeded in 
beating back the attack, and in wounding one or two of 
them. But they were too numerous to be kept long at 
bay, and he would certainly have been killed, if the 
warders, who had beaten off the attack made on them, 
had not seen the peril of their comrade and his defender,’ 
and come to the rescue. Just as they ran up, the convict 
received a violent blow on the head, which laid him on 
the ground by the side of the insensible warder whom he 
had so bravely defended. 

The attempted escape had been prevented, however, 
and a body of warders, sent out hastily from the prison 
when the mist had begun to fall, came up at that moment, 
and the convicts threw down their spades and picks, and 
gave in. 

“ Who is it ? ” was asked of the warder, who was 
bending over the convict and examining the wound 
on his head, from which blood was flowing. ” Is he 
dead?” 

“ No, he’s not dead ; but he’s got a nasty wound on 
the head. It’s that quiet chap, 486. I didn’t think he’d 
got such pluck in him.” 

“ Well, he’s a brave chap to stand alone against that 


8 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

troop of howling devils/’ answered another warder who 
had seen the whole attack. 

“ Yes, he deserves his liberty, and ’ll get it, if he don’t 
die, that is,” was the reply. Then they ordered the 
crowd of vanquished convicts to fall in, and picking 
up the wounded men, carried them at the rear of the 
line of march back to the prison. 

No. 486 was the convict, James Linnegan, who had 
served five years of his sentence. 


CHAPTER I 


NO. 50 CLERGY-STREET, CLERKENWELL 

"Well, are you going to have them or not? Just 
say the word, that’s all. I’m not going to stop here all 
day.” 

“ I tell you they’re no good to me. The last I had 
I lost by. It was all very well when I could manage 
to get rid of them easily, but now the man’s dead who 
used to take them, and stones cut like that emerald 
would be known anywhere. Where did you get them ? ” 
And old Simeon Hoadley fixed his cold, sharp, gray eyes 
on the face of his companion, who was offering to sell 
him some unset stones. 

The man gave a short laugh as he answered — 

" What’s that got to do with it ? Are you going to 
turn particular all of a sudden? I have ’em and you can 
buy ’em at a price. Ain’t that good enough? Don’t 
ask fool’s questions.” 

The two men were sitting in Simeon Hoadley’s small 
room — his office as he called it — at No. 50 Clergy-street, 
Clerkenwell ; a dirty street with a dirtier reputation. On 
the table between them lay the stones, diamonds, rubies 
and emeralds, about which they were chaffering and 
bargaining.” 

“ There’s only one stone worth anything,” continued 
9 


io Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

the old man, taking them up one by one and examining 
them very critically. 

“ That’s a lie,” answered his companion, “ and you 
know it. They’re all good, everyone of ’em. They’re 
worth near on to a thousand pounds of anyone’s money. 
So there.” 

The old man started at these words, and put the stones 
back instantly on to the table, and pushed them across 
to his companion. 

“ There, take them away, take them away,” he cried. 
“ Take them where fools are ready to believe fools’ tales.” 

“ I didn’t say I wanted a thousand pounds for ’em,” 
returned the other, laughing at Hoadley’s eagerness. ** I 
said they cost a thousand.” 

“ You didn’t. You said they were worth it. Take 
them away, I say, take them away. I wouldn’t give 
more than twenty pounds for the lot. There’s only one 
stone that hasn’t a flaw.” 

“ Why, that diamonds worth £500 by itself ; you know 
it is, too,” cried the other man, angered at Hoadley’s 
words. 

“ Fool ! ” exclaimed the old man. “ It isn’t worth five 
pounds. Do you think you can take me in? Watch.” 
He opened a drawer in his table as he spoke, and took out 
a small tin cup, into which he poured some liquid from a 
bottle taken from the same drawer. He placed the 
diamond in it, and kindling a spirit lamp, held the cup 
over it for a minute or two. In a short time he took 
the stone out, and examining it very closely through a 
watchmaker’s eyeglass, he had no difficulty in dividing 


No. 50 Clergy-Street, Clerkenwell 11 

it into two parts; and he showed the other man that it 
was composed of two stones, cut flat at the back, and 
then joined together. 

“ Two bad halves have had the flaws cut away, and 
then have been joined to make one stone. It’s difficult to 
detect in certain kinds of setting,” he said, “ but a fool 
ought to see it in a naked stone.” He spoke almost 
contemptuously. 

“ What a do ! ” growled the other man, with a mut- 
tered oath. “ Well, you shall have the lot for a hundred,” 
he added. 

“ Take them away, I tell you ; I don’t want them,” cried 
Simeon Hoadley, again ; “ they’re not the kind of goods 
for my purpose.” 

“Well, hang it, what will you give?” 

“I’ll give you twenty pounds; and then I shall lose 
seven pounds by the deal. But I have done pretty well 
by some you have brought me, and I don’t like to see 
you disappointed about that stone.” 

“You shall have ’em for fifty,” returned the other; 
and then a long bargaining squabble followed, in which 
both men grew angry, and high words were interchanged. 
At the end of it, Simeon Hoadley purchased the jewels 
for £ 24 10s. He went to a large safe which stood in a 
corner of the room, and taking out an old cash-box, 
counted out all the money that was in it, and swore that 
all he had in the world was £23 15s. This amount the 
other man at length agreed to accept, calling Hoadley 
a miser, skin-flint, screw, and many such terms, to all 
of which the old man paid not the slightest heed. 


12 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ The worst day’s work I’ve done for twenty years,” 
he said, as his visitor was going. “ I shall lose ten 
pounds — perhaps twelve — by the deal.” 

But, when he came back to the table, after the man 
had left the house, his manner was by no means that of 
one who has made a bad or even a doubtful bargain. 
He smiled to himself, and rubbed his hands together 
gently, and his face had such an expression of satis- 
faction, his eyes especially glowing with a light of satis- 
fied cunning, that it was evident he had done well. 

He poured the contents of the tin cup back into the 
little bottle, and put cup and bottle again into the drawer. 

“ What a fool,” he murmured to himself, “ not to 
know his own diamond again.” Then he took out the 
stones he had just purchased, and laid them on the table 
in front of him. Among them were the two halves of the 
large diamond. He put these together, and compared 
them with a large stone which he picked out of a drawer 
that stood open during the interview. 

“ Any fool might have seen the difference,” he muttered 
again, as he compared the diamond with the two halves, 
“ But he didn’t. What a fool ! It’s a lovely stone — per- 
fect ; without a flaw or speck — a perfect brilliant. He was 
right. It is worth £500, if it’s worth a shilling. And he 
never saw me make the change ! ” With this he put the 
two halves back into the drawer, with the tin mug and 
the bottle. 

He had cheated the man. When he had bent down 
to get out the cup and spirit-lamp, he had substituted a 
joined stone of his own, for the brilliant which the man 
had brought; and by simply melting the cement that 


No. 50 Clergy-Street, Clerkenwell 13 

bound the two halves of his stone together, he had made 
the other man believe that his brilliant was false. 

This was not the first time, by many a hundred, in 
which Simeon Hoadley’s cunning, in his thirty years of 
bargaining and dealing, had enabled him to over-reach 
those who came to him. 

He subjected all the stones once more to a close and 
minute scrutiny ; and when he had satisfied himself of 
their real value — and there was no better judge of this in 
all London — he divided them into two lots. One con- 
sisted of a few small stones, which he intended to sell 
in order to recoup himself for the outlay for the whole; 
and the other, which included all the finest and largest 
stones, notably the magnificent brilliant, he put aside to 
be kept. 

He looked round the room, considering where he should 
put them. 

It was a mean, dirty, poverty-stricken place enough; 
the furniture being of the commonest, most comfortless, 
and shabbiest description. A piece of dingy carpet, 
frayed and threadbare, covered the centre of the room, 
and showed the gfimy floorboards through many a rent 
and hole. The table had once been a good one — a library 
table with several drawers — but the leather top was worn 
completely away, the knobs of the drawers were either 
broken or missing, and the woodwork was scratched and 
worn and discolored. Four common wooden chairs 
were in the room, rickety, scratched, and chipped like the 
table. The grate was without fender or fire-irons, and 
was rusty, and dim, and neglected. On one side of the 
room stood an old bureau that seemed to be tumbling 


14 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

to pieces with age and decay, and some shelves in a 
recess by the chimney were much in the same condition, 
and seemed scarcely able to sustain the weight of the 
dusty papers and the few books which were piled without 
order or method upon them. The only thing in the room 
which showed any signs of care or attention was the 
large heavy safe, the clean, fresh brightness of which 
formed a sharp contrast to everything else. Except on 
this, the dirt and dust and filth had accumulated every- 
where in such quantities as to suggest that the place 
had been untouched by broom or duster for months. 

Simeon Hoadley himself was as dirty and untidy as 
the room in which he sat. His long brown coat was 
greasy with age, and frayed at the pockets and cuffs, his 
trousers were jagged and darned and pieced, and his boots 
were down at heel and patched to such a degree that 
little of the original leather remained. On his head he 
wore a very old skull cup, which had started in life as 
velvet, but from which every trace of nap had long been 
gone. It was too big for his head — he had found it one 
day in the street and had worn it every day since — and 
it would often slip partly off, now behind his head, now 
over one ear, in a manner that' would have provoked 
any other man. But Simeon had no intention of buying 
another — he never bought any clothes — and felt no 
trouble about it. 

His one consuming thought was how to get money or 
money’s worth. For thirty years he had striven and 
fought and labored for that one end; and the craving 
that had had its origin in want, had grown into his nature 
and had become part of himself. For thirty years, he had 


No. 50 Clergy-Street, Clerkenwell 15 

cheated and robbed and defrauded and lied, until now 
a bargain had no savor for him in which there was 
no room for his talents? And for thirty years he had 
lived so hard a life, had denied himself every luxury, and 
starved himself so rigorously that now he could not eat' 
the hardest food, or buy the sheerest necessary trifle 
without a pang of pain and regret at the outlay. 

His miserliness had become a mania with him. 

Yet he was rich far beyond any expectation he had 
ever formed in his younger days. When he had first 
begun to save in early life, he had sometimes laid by a 
small jewel or two, thinking it a convenient form in 
which to save, and as his years increased and his means 
expanded, the love of jewels had developed into a positive 
passion with him. No matter where they might have come 
from, found, stolen, or honestly gotten, Simeon Hoadley 
was always ready to buy jewels. He asked no questions; 
or if he asked them he cared nothing for the answers that 
were made. He would buy and take all risks; and so 
shrewd and cunning and keen was he, that though many 
thousands of pounds' worth of such jewels had passed 
through his hands in thirty years he had never made a 
mistake as to the value of a single stone, and had never 
had traced to his possession a single stolen jewel. 

His love of jewels — especially of diamonds and emer- 
alds — was even a stronger passion than his love of money. 
To him there was no greater or more fascinating delight 
than to sit and toy with his diamonds and emeralds. He 
had them always at hand, hidden in curious secret places. 
He would take some of them out and lay them on the 
table, hold them in the palm of one hand and turn them 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


16 

over fondly and lovingly with the forefinger of the other, 
murmur terms of endearment to them, place them against 
(his cheek, his forehead, his lips, kiss them as if they 
were things of life. He worshipped them very much as a 
savage worships his idol. 

When the man whom he had cheated left him, he shut 
the door of his room carefully, and taking out a number 
of stones from the places where they were hidden he com- 
pared them with those he had just bought, holding them 
side by side to the light, gauging their weight and thick- 
ness, muttering to himself the while, and mumbling 
caressing words over the stones. He played with them 
like a child with a treasured toy, and was completely ab- 
sorbed in the pleasure of the task, and lost to every other 
feeling but the fierce, intense, concentrated joy of 
possession. 

Someone knocked at the door, after a while; but the 
miser did not hear the knock, until it had been twice 
repeated. 

“ Who’s that ? ” he called out, in a sharp, querulous 
voice. “ Go away ; don’t bother me. I’m trying to get a 
nap.” 

“ Here’s your food,” was the reply, in a woman’s 
voice, unpleasant and deep-toned. “ You’d better take it 
now, you’ll sleep all the better for it.” 

The old man picked up the stones over which he had 
been gloating, and talking in a shrill tone all the time 
to cover the sound of his movements, he crept like a 
thief about the room, putting them back in the places 
he had taken them from, Then he opened the door, and 
groaned, 


No. 50 Clergy-Street, Clerkenwell 17 

“What’s the matter?” asked a tall, gaunt, large-fea- 
tured woman, with brown, beady eyes, that had a repulsive 
look. 

“ I’ve been taken in, cheated, lied to, robbed,” answered 
Simeon, volubly. “ I had twenty-two pounds left in the 
world, and a scoundrel came and made me give it all to 
him, for what isn’t worth half or quarter of the money. 
Oh, the fool that I am ! The easily robbed, helpless, fool 
that I am!” and he tore the skull cap off his head, and 
threw it on the ground, and plunged his hands among 
his scant grey hair, as if in a frenzy of despair. 

“ Do you want to spoil that nice new cap of yours ? ” 
asked the woman, as she picked it up with a laugh. “ So 
you’ve been cheated, have you, Simeon ? Ha ! ” and she 
laughed a mirthless, sneering, dry laugh. “ Cheated you, 
eh? Ha ha! Poor old fool. You , cheated? Ha ha! 
Twenty-two pounds, had you? Why you had only two 
shillings and a half-penny this morning, so you told me. 
Must have been raining sovereigns, I should think. Oh, 
Simeon Hoadley what an old liar you are ! ” 

“ Not to you, Bloxam ; not to you, dear old friend,” 
mumbled the man, taking her hard, bony hand in his 
fingers, and speaking in a half-cringing tone. “ Not to 
my trusted old helpmate of ever so many years. How 
many years is it that you’ve lived for nothing in this 
house, having your own rooms like a lady, and priding 
it with the best of them ? Oh, but you are a lucky woman, 
Bloxam ; with so much to enjoy now, and the house to be 
your own soon, when poor old Simeon lies dead. You are 
a lucky woman. That twenty pounds would have been 
yours too, Bloxam, if it hadn’t been stolen away from 


1 8 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

me,” he said, eyeing the woman from under his shaggy 
brows. 

“ A lucky woman, am I ? ” returned the woman, “ to 
have to find you in food every day, to say nothing of 
having to keep the whole place tidy and clean and neat; 
and taking care of the house, just to get a roof to lie 
under. Lucky, indeed; it’s yours is the luck — mine’s the 
work.” 

“ It’s only taking care of your own, Bloxam,” said 
Simeon, in a soft, slv, conciliating voice, “ or what’ll 
be vour own some day. Ah, and soon, too, Bloxam, for 
I’m breaking up, sadly. And this blow, to-day, is enough 
to knock five years off my life. The villain — the scoun- 
drel — to cheat a poor old man out of half his all ! What a 
proud woman you will be that day, Bloxam, when you’re 
living in your own house, just for all the world like a 
lady of title. How everybody will envy you ! ” he added 
leering at her. 

“ Well, I shall have to pay for their envy, by the time 
I get it,” said the woman, coarsely, as she went away. 

“ That you will, you old catamount,” said Simeon to 
himself, as he fastened the door behind her. '‘If you 
don’t get anyone to envy you till this house is yours, you’ll 
die a disappointed woman, Martha Bloxam. The old 
frump ! To think that I’m going to give her this house, 
just in return for a few bits of bread day by day! The 
grasping old hunks ! ” 

The terms on which the miser allowed the woman to 
stay in the house were that she should wait upon him, 
and supply him every day with something to eat. Where 
she got it, or how she lived herself, he did not know, 


No. 50 Clergy-Street, Clerkenwell 19 


nor ask, nor care. As an inducement to the woman to 
keep the bargain, he had agreed to give her the house 
after his death ; and he had given her a document which 
he pretended was his will, and in which he had left her 
the house and all that was in it. But like most of his acts 
this was a mere pretence. He was cheating her, and 
had not the least intention of keeping the promise he had 
made. 

He took the food she had brought — bread, cold meat 
and water — and he sat down to the table to eat it. While 
he was eating he brought some of his diamonds out and 
played with them, moving them gently with his fingers, 
turning them over in his hand;, and holding them up to 
admire their glitter, and shimmer, and brilliance. He 
never tired of doing this, and when, presently, he took 
up the piece of newspaper, in which the cold meat had 
been wrapped he still toyed with the stones. 

Suddenly, he gave a violent start, and cried out as if 
in fear. He dropped the paper, and clutched with both 
hands the precious stones on the table, and glanced round 
the room with quick, hurried, nervous looks. Then he 
rose, and with unsteady limbs walked round the room, 
and put back the gems in their hiding places, his fingers 
trembling violently all the time. 

Then he went back to the table and sank down on the 
chair, and picking up the paper again read eagerly, and 
with almost fierce agitation the paragraph that had so 
disturbed him. 

It was the announcement of James Linneg^n’s pardon 
and discharge from jail; and the old man’s face was 
white and wet with fear as he read. 


CHAPTER II 

IN FEAR OF DEATH 

“ I’ll have your life for this, Simeon Hoadley, I swear, 
if you’re not dead when I come out. I’ll swing for you if 
it’s twenty years hence.” 

The words were singing and sounding and resounding 
in the old man’s ears, as he sat motionless at the table, the 
scene of Linnegan’s conviction five years before, present 
in his memory, and rendered painfully vivid by his fears. 

“ He’ll do it, he’ll do it,” he murmured to himself, 
through his grey, bloodless lips. “ He’ll do worse ; he’ll 
take my wealth. Curses on them ! Curses on them 1 ” 
he burst out, with sudden frenzy, through his clenched 
teeth, smiting the air with his fists, as he raved against 
those who had ordered Linnegan’s release. “ What right 
have they to go against the judge? The sentence was 
for twenty years — twenty years, and scarce five of them 
have passed. What devil’s work can it have been? I’m 
not safe, not safe for an hour. He’s a murderer, a mur- 
derer in all but fact. The judge said so. ‘You went 
to the house with murder in your thoughts.’ So he did ; 
if not that time at many other times. He always wanted 


20 


In Fear of Death 


21 

me dead. The judge knew him in a moment. * You 
are a dangerous man,’ he said, and sent him to jail for 
twenty years. And now these fools, these law-breakers, 
these idiots, have let him out to prey on us again. ‘ I’ll 
have your life for this.’ He’s a murderer, a self-confessed 
murderer, and yet they’ve let him out ! ‘ You went to 

the house with murder in your thoughts.’ And so he did. 
So he will come again here. I’m not safe for a moment. 
My jewels are not safe. My God, and I can do nothing ! ” 
Then his rage grew beyond the power of utterance, and 
he bent his head down and groaned, and cursed, and 
gnashed his teeth in paroxysms of impotent fury and 
agonizing fear. 

Presently he grew somewhat calmer. 

“ What can I do? ” he said, getting up from his chair. 
“ I must do something. How much does he know of 
what is here? How much did he find out when he was 
here? Not much; and what' he did know wouldn’t help 
him now. I’ve changed almost everyone of my darlings’ 
hiding places. He won’t find them. No one could do 
that. And I — I would not tell him, if I were to die for my 
secret. Will he try to kill me! Will his temper last as 
long as this? Yes ; he’s a devil, a fiend incarnate. I’m not 
safe. And if he kill me, what then ? He shall hang for 
it; but he shall not have my jewels. They are for 
Marion.” 

Then came a pause in which the man was thinking 
intently. 

“ But how can she get them if I am dead? She does 
not even know that I am here at all, knows nothing ; but 
supposes I am away at work somewhere. That devil 


22 


Miser Hjoadley’s Secret 


knows it all well enough. What can I do? What can 
I do? Must I tell Marion everything? ” 

He passed his long thin dirty fingers through the strag- 
gling beard which fringed his hard-beaten, deeply lined 
face, and putting the ends of hair between his teeth, bit 
them, as he walked across the room, pondering with close 
concentrated thought, the problem he wished to solve; 
and muttering to himself all the time, in an undertone. 

After a while, he went back to his chair at the table 
and sat down, still thinking deeply and closely, and not 
moving, except as he twisted his gray beard and whiskers 
with nervous unrest. 

Suddenly, he jumped up from the chair, and brought 
down his hand violently on the table. 

“ I have it,” he cried, quite aloud. “ No one knows 
all but myself ; and no one shall, while I live. I won't 
tell Marion anything. There’s no need/ I’ll write it, so 
that no one can understand it without the key, and that 
key shall never be out of my possession, unless it is in 
Marion’s. Yes; that will do it! Then, James Linnegan, 
you can do your worst. If you kill me, I shall die with 
the knowledge that my wits have beaten you beforehand, 
and have laid a trap that will catch you. I see now what 
I can do. The plan opens. I will cheat you after all. 
You may grasp the treasure, but, by heavens, you shall 
gain nothing but a halter.” He said this, with an oath 
and a string of epithets expressive of his hate and fear 
of Linnegan. “ Now, let me think of the details.” 

The old man plunged again into deep thought, and 
paced up and down the room, pulling, twisting, and biting 


In Fear of Death 


2 3 


his beard as he walked; while now and then, as an idea 
struck him, he went to the table and made a note of it; 
and then immediately resumed his shuffling, shambling, 
agitated walk. 


CHAPTER III 


MARION, DID YOU EVER HEAR ME MENTION THE NAME 
OF LINNEGAN ? ” 

“ I am sorry I am late, Ralph ; but I was kept at the 
office. There was a lot of work which had to be done at 
once ; it was special, and I stayed. Have you been waiting 
long? ” 

“ No, Marion, only a few minutes. You are not much 
behind time. It is only twenty minutes past seven.” 

“ Yes, but I don’t like to be even a few minutes late. 
You know that one of what you call my fads is to do 
what I say I will at the time I say I will do it.” 

“ Ah, well, I would wait a great deal longer than 
twenty minutes for the pleasure of walking home with 
you, Marion,” said Ralph Gething, affectionately. “ But 
you know that.” 

“ Yes, I hope I do,” answered Marion Jannaway, a 
rather tall, erect, bright, clever-looking girl, with a smile 
of pleasure, called up by her lover’s words, that gave a 
very sweet, gentle expression to her clear-cut features. 
“ Besides, I have some news that may please you, and 
will certainly interest you,” she added. 

“ What is that, dear? ” 

“ Well, what would you think if I were to set up in 
business on my own account? The project has been sug- 

24 


“ The Name of Linnegan 


2 5 


)> 


gested to me. You know that 1 have one type-writer of 
my own, bought and paid for out of my earnings ; and I 
have nearly enough money to buy another. I can get a 
girl, who is a capital operator, very clever and quick, to 
join me if I will pay her about a pound a week, at first. 
I have had an office, large enough and central enough for 
my purpose, offered to me for a few shillings a week; 
and thus all my expenses would be, allowing for wear and 
tear of machines, ink-ribbons, etc., about thirty shillings 
a week.” 

“ But what made you think of all this ? ” asked the man, 
astonished at the practical and methodical way in which 
the girl had made her plans. 

“ I will tell you,” she answered. “ There has been some 
little trouble at our office. Our manager, Mrs. Gunthry, 
has had a dispute with one of our best customers, a Mr. 
Copplestone, who sends in a great deal of work. I have 
done very much of this, and he knows it. He has offered 
to give me the whole of it to do at the prices paid now, 
and to use his efforts to get me work from among his 
friends. His work averages quite fifty shillings a week; 
so that I should start with a clear pound a week over all 
expenses. Now, what do you say, Ralph?” 

“ That you have a wonderful little head for making 
plans,” said her lover with a laugh. 

“ No, don’t run away from the point,” returned the 
girl, showing by a slight wrinkle that crossed her brow, 
that she did not like his answer. 

“ Well, my dear, I am afraid that I cannot answer off- 
hand. It might be a serious thing if you were to leave 
where you are and set up for yourself on the strength of 


26 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

this Mr. Copplestone’s offer, and then find he did not, or 
could not, do all he promised. Have you any other pos- 
sible connections ? ” 

“ Certainly I have/' answered Marion Jannaway, read- 
ily. “ Possible ; probable, indeed ; but not certain. I have 
been at the work four years, Ralph, and have frequently 
had the control of the whole office. Besides I am the fast- 
est and most correct writer there.” 

“ Dear me, little vanity, are you really ? ” he said, ban- 
tering her. 

“ I am not saying that out of vanity,” replied the girl, 
in a business-like, matter-of-fact tone. “ But that you 
may see the considerations that weigh with me. It seems 
to me a chance which I may never have again.” 

“ But what would your old father say ? ” 

“ I am my own mistress, so far as he is concerned. If 
I am able to earn as much money one way as the other, 
he would say nothing; could have nothing to say, in 
fact.,” answered Marion, in a calm, decisive, self-pos- 
sessed manner. 

Ralph Gething made no reply for a moment, and the 
girl looked at him once or twice during the pause as if 
to note the expression of his face, but it was difficult to 
do this in the dim uncertain light cast by the shops and 
street lamps through the dull November night mist. 

“ Will it bring us nearer to our goal, Marion, or will 
it mean that we must wait longer? ” he asked quietly. 

“ It will make no difference as to that, Ralph. You 
know I must think of my father; and he gets more and 
more helpless every month. But it will make me inde- 
pendent; and I long for that.” 


“ The Name of Linnegan 


2 7 


>> 


“ You can hardly claim to be independent, Marion, 
when you mean to be always waiting for your father’s 
consent,” said Ralph Gething, rather irritably. “ 1 don’t 
see the necessity for that at all. He has not done so 
much for you that you need to be always thinking of him 
first, and putting everybody else a long way behind him.” 

“ He is my father, Ralph, and that must be enough for 
me,” answered Marion, calmly. She was an undemon- 
strative girl, and spoke very quietly. But the antagonism 
between her father and her lover often caused her much 
distress, and she had constantly to hold the balance be- 
tween the two; and to uphold her lover’s cause with her 
father, and her father’s with her lover. “ I wish you two 
could be better friends, Ralph. You do not understand 
my father, or you would be more tolerant, dear.” 

“ I- don’t wish to be intolerant, Marion ; but I certainly 
do think it is hard that, after he left you to scramble up 
as best you might in an asylum, he should only begin to 
take an interest in you now that you have developed a 
power of earning money 4 and that his interest should take 
the form of letting you work very hard in order to keep 
him. He only dislikes me because he thinks our marriage 
might interfere with that arrangement.” 

“ Hush, Ralph ! Don’t talk like that. It pains me,” 
said Marion. “ I don’t like to hear bitter words from you 
about anything or anybody, least of all about my father. 
You must remember that he is very old ; that his days of 
earning money are over; that he is dependent upon me 
entirely; and that if I were to fail him, he could do 
nothing but go to the poorhouse. And neither you nor I 
could bear that that should happen.” 


28 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ Then are we to go on in this way until his death, or 
until someone leaves him a fortune?” asked the man, 
with all a lover’s impetuosity. 

“ If necessary, yes,” answered his companion. “ But 
it will not be necessary, if I make this type-writing office 
anything of a success. And I am mistaken in myself if I 
cannot do that,” she added, very confidently and reso- 
lutely. “We can afford to wait a year or two, Ralph, if 
need be. I’m not twenty-one till next week. Besides, 
when I am successful, it will be a great help to us. If I 
seem very practical and business-like,” she added, with a 
smile that gave a great charm to her face, “ you must 
blame my four years’ struggle in London. But, it would 
be a good thing if I were to get together a really good 
business, wouldn’t it ? And I don’t see why I should not. 
Or would you be afraid of me, if I developed into a regu- 
lar woman of business? Would it spoil me in vour e>es, 
dear?” 

“ It would not alter your nature, Marion ; and nothing 
would ever spoil or change you in my eyes — or my heart,” 
answered her lover. “ I think you must be born to take 
an independent course ; for you have a way of convincing 
one against one’s opinions, that is very winning. I am 
sorry I spoke as I did about your father. You would not 
be my Marion, if you did not act just as you are doing; 
and I’ll try not to be very impatient. He said this very 
frankly and affectionately. 

“ Thank you, Ralph. Of course, it is a sorrow to me 
that you and my father cannot agree, but we cannot help 
it. He is very trying sometimes, and says and does things 
that are very hard to bear. But when I am irritated, I 


" The Name of Linnegan 


29 


J) 


remember that he is old and helpless ; and then my irri- 
tation passes away. Besides, if things had been other- 
wise, I might have grown up a very different kind of 
girl ; like some of those play-kittens we have at the office ; 
and I should not make a good kitten. Nature meant me 
to work, and certainly my father has helped nature won- 
derfully. ,, 

“ Yes, there’s no doubt about that,” said Ralph Gething, 
rather drily. 

“ And it’s better so. Well, here we are at Morris-place. 
Will you come in to-night ? ” 

“ No, thank you, I’d rather not. Good-night. To- 
morrow, as usual, I hope.” 

“ Yes, Ralph. Good-night, dear.” And they kissed 
and parted. 

Marion Jannaway’s nature was very self-restrained, 
and there was little or no passion in the kiss she gave 
her lover; but she loved him very deeply and truly. 
And when he walked away and was lost in the mist, she 
looked after him very lovingly, as she stood on the door- 
step of the house, and thought how lucky she was to have 
brave, frank, handsome, honest Ralph Gething for a lover ; 
and she gave a little sigh of happiness as she turned away 
and opened the door. 

“ Ah, father, you’re before me to-night, then,” she 
said, pleasantly and brightly, when she entered their 
room. “ Have you been in long? You must want a cup 
of tea. I’ll get it in a minute, as soon as I have taken off 
my hat and jacket.” 

The old man made no reply, except to look up and 
ask her why she was so late, 


30 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ I had to stay at the office, father,” she said. “ There 
was some work to do, and of course I stopped to do it.” 

“ Do they pay you for it extra ? Extra work ought to 
mean extra pay,” returned the old man quickly and 
eagerly. 

“ Of course they do,” replied the girl. “ But I should 
have stopped all the same if they did not. It doesn’t 
do in times like these to be particular about an hour or 
two.” 

“ Not if they pay you; but it don’t do to make yourself 
cheap. How much did you earn ? ” 

“ A shilling or two. I didn’t stop to count up the 
number of words. But it will be a help; every little 
does that, doesn’t it ? ” said Marion, cheerfully, as she 
busied herself in preparing the tea. 

“ Can’t they cheat you if they count up the words 
for you ? ” asked her father, looking up at her from under 
his heavy brows. 

“ No I don’t think so. I don’t think they would at- 
tempt it. I have a very shrewd idea of how much I 
earned. I know the speed at which I can type, and I know 
how long I worked. Besidest, I’m not' so suspicious as 
you are, father,” said the girl, smiling. 

“ Ay, you will be some day ; when you are a bit older 
and wiser.” 

“ Why, would you cheat anyone who left it to you 
to count up the quantity of work done?” asked Marion, 
looking round at the old man from the fire, where she 
was toasting some bread. 

“ Yes, I think I would,” answered her father, truthfully 
enough. “ Where one man is square, a hundred are 


“ The Name of Linnegan 


3 1 


» 


crooked; and if you don’t take a few points that don’t 
belong tcf you, you only get cheated out of some of those 
that do. At least,” he said, altering his tone, and chang- 
ing his quick, eager manner for one that was suggestive 
of helplessness ; “ that’s what I used to think when I 
could work. Now, I’m only a poor, broken-down old 
man, useless and of no account, with never a chance of 
cheating or being cheated for that matter, as I never can 
get work. Ah, dear ! ” He sighed, and threw up his 
hands, as if in helpless regret. 

“ Well, it’s a good thing you can’t cheat people if 
you do want to, father,” said Marion. “ I don’t believe 
in your philosophy; and it certainly has not paid in your 
case. I believe that honest work pays. Lies, hypocrisy, 
double dealing, cheating, cant, and the whole crew of 
them can’t steer the ship properly. If you can’t get for- 
ward without cheating, you’d better stay behind, say I. 
And as long as I have health and strength, I mean to 
walk erect like a Christian. But come along, let’s have 
tea, and never mind commercial morality. Now, tell me,” 
she said, when they sat at the table and she had given him 
tea and toast, “ what have you been doing all day ? ” 

“ Eh ? ” he exclaimed, suspiciously, stopping to look 
up at her, with a piece of toast midway between his mouth 
and his plate. “Oh, what have I been doing? Ah, 
Marion, my child, it’s little a poor helpless old man like 
me can do. I thought— mind you, I thought— and hoped 
I was going to get a chance of earning a shilling from 
that old screw, Ezra Gibeon, but I didn’t manage it after 
all. I didn’t manage it. I’m a great burden on you, 
Marion,” he said, in a hopeless, melancholy way, “ but 


3 * 


^ Miser Hoadley*s Secret 


it’s not my fault, it’s not my fault. I asked Ezra if 
he could give me a job, and he looked at me, and said: 

‘ Simeon Jannaway, old friend, Eve known you many 
years as a faithful, hard-working, unfortunate, honest 
man ; I’ll do what I can for you.’ Then he went into his 
shop and brought out something, and said, ‘ Go, Simeon, 
and try to sell this,’ and he handed me a gold ornament. 
I tried, and tried, and tried all over London, till my 
poor old feet ached, and my shaky old legs nearly doubled 
under me, but I couldn’t succeed. Here’s the thing. It’s 
a curious seal, isn’t it ? ” 

The old man watched the girl very closely all the 
time he spoke, and he now handed her a seal which 
he took from his pocket. 

It was a little gold seal of a most curious pattern. 
The design was that of a serpent coiled round the body 
of a child, whose head formed the flat surface of the seal. 
The body of the child was of gold and the serpent of 
ivory, the scales being marked by gold wire of extreme 
fineness, beautifully inlaid. The eyes of the serpent 
were two rubies, and the forks of the tongue were tipped 
with minute diamonds; while over the whole was an 
exceedingly fine network of gold filigree, studded in 
many places with tiny rubies, diamonds and emeralds. 

Marion held it long in her hands, admiring the delicate 
workmanship. Then she noticed that* the engraving 
of the seal was a reproduction of the design with the 
letters “ S. J.” underneath it, in old English characters. 

“You would know that again, wouldn’t you, Marion? 
It’s a beautiful thing, Indian,” said her father. 

“ Not beautiful, is it, so much as curious,” she an- 


“ The Name of Linnegan 


33 


)) 


swered. “ I should know it again. It is a seal one could 
never forget. By the way, when do you think that Mr. 
Ezra will let me go over his shop?” she asked. This 
was in reference to a promise made by her father that 
he would take her to Ezra Gibeon’s shop for her to see 
the curiosities in which he said the man dealt ; but he had 
never given her the address. 

“ We must see about that. He has a great many 
beautiful things. Do you remember this fish? He gave 
me this to try and sell also,” said the old man, glancing 
furtively at his companion, to see whether she believed 
readily what he told her. 

“ Yes, yes, I remember it. I scratched my initials 
on it. Do you remember ? Ah, here they are ! ” It was a 
fish-shaped pencil-case of an extraordinary design. The 
scales of the fish were formed of flakes of mother-of- 
pearl, and were dotted here and there with minute jewels; 
the fins and the tail were of gold ; and on the tail Marion 
had scratched her initials in very tiny letters. 

“ Do the same on the seal,” said her father, “ and 
m, if you should ever meet with either of them again, 
j will be able to recognize it without doubt.” 

* But what will Mr. Ezra say ? ” 

‘ Oh, he won’t mind,” answered her father, shortly, 
le laughed, when I showed him your little ‘ M. J.’ on 
; fish.” 

He watched her scratch the letters, and then took the 
rA and examined it closely. 

“ That’s right,” he said, and seemed relieved. “ Be 
sure you remember them both.” 

“ But I shall never see them again, father,” laughed 


34 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

Marion ; “ unless Mr. Ezra gives them to you. He 
trusts you, you see, despite that miserable theory you 
mentioned just now.” 

“Yes, he trusts me, don’t he?” he answered shortly, 
as he put the ornaments into his pocket. “ But it wouldn’t 
pay to cheat him, don’t you see. There’s the difference.” 
He was silent then, and went and sat by the fire. 

“ Marion,” he said to the girl, after a long silence. 
The girl had meanwhile cleared the table, and sat near 
him. “ Did you ever hear me mention the name of Linne- 
gan — James Linnegan?” and although he tried to speak 
calmly, he clenched his teeth and knitted his heavy 
eyebrows. 

“ James Linnegan? No, father, I don’t think so. Who 
is he?” 

“ He’s a dangerous man, Marion ! ” The words burst 
from the man as if his feelings could be restrained no 
longer, and he felt the relief of speaking to someone 
of what troubled him. His vehemence increased as he 
spoke. “A dangerous, desperate man — a man who has 
done more to ruin me than anyone else. A man who 
is my enemy and yours. A man to be spurned and 
dogged and watched and — feared, Marion. A scoundrel, 
a bully, a murderer — aye, a murderer — in thought and 
intent.” 

“ Father ! ” said the girl, in a remonstrating tone, sur- 
prised at his violence. 

“ I forgot — I always do forget when I think of him. 
But I want you to know the name and to remember it; 
and if anything ever happens to us, anything that malice, 
hatred, anger, villainy can prompt an enemy to plot and 


“ The Name of Linnegan ” 35 

plan against us, to look to him as the author of it. Will 
you do that, Marion ? ” 

“ I don’t think I understand you quite, father,” was 
the reply. 

“ Don’t wait to understand ; it’s enough to remember.” 
He laid his hand on her arm as he spoke, and shook 
it fiercely, and looked into her face with fierce, eager, 
angry light in his eyes. “ He’s an enemy — a dangerous, 
desperate, murderous enemy — whose name should be spat 
upon by every peace-loving man.” 

“ But what have we done, that he should be an enemy? ” 

“ Nothing, nothing,” answered Simeon, angrily, snap- 
ping out the words. “ Nothing; I tried to help him years 
ago, and that makes him hate me now. Don’t ask ques- 
tions ; remember his name, to hate it as I do ; to know 
him for an enemy, as I do ; to long for his death, as I do ; 
but not to fear him, as I do. Crush him, face him, curse 
him, kill him, have no mercy on him if once he tries to 
harm us. Never forget his name, for it is hateful enough 
to be easily borne in mind — and have him hanged, like the 
dog he is.” 

Simeon’s anger had risen until it had become a pas- 
sionate frenzy. 

“ Father, you are not well to-night,” said Marion, 
rising as she spoke. “ Your long walk has worn you out. 
You must go to bed and sleep this excitement away. 
You are not yourself.” She took a candle and ran down 
to his room, which was on the half-landing below hers 
and saw that all was comfortable for him. Then she re- 
turned and went with him to the door tof his room, and 
kissed hitn and bade him good night. 


3 6 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


She was always kind and thoughtful and gentle with 
him ; zealous for his comfort and careful for his needs ; 
striving in every way to ease the load which his age and 
helplessness and poverty laid upon him. She had not a 
suspicion that in every detail of his life he was deceiving 
her, even as to her own name. The last idea that would 
ever have entered her head was that this man who had 
just left her — dirty, ragged, as he persisted in being, 
despite her — weak and penniless as he seemed, craving a 
shilling from anyone who would give it him, and living 
upon the money she earned by long hours of hard work, 
would lie awake for hours, thinking of his wealth of 
jewels, reckoning up his riches and falling into fitful 
sleep only to start up again in a sweat of fear, that his 
enemy had robbed him of what he valued more even than 
life itself — his fortune. 


CHAPTER IV 


Marion's father does not come home 

Marion had not the slightest suspicion that Simeon 
Hoadley had so completely deceived her in regard to his 
occupations. Until she was over fifteen years of age she 
had lived in a large institution in which he had suc- 
ceeded in placing her as a child, and when she had left the 
place to come to him, he had represented himself as 
Simeon Jannaway, and had never given her any cause to 
believe that her name was anything but Jannaway, or that 
he was any other than a poverty-stricken, feeble man, 
unable to earn his own living. He represented himself 
as a silversmith, who was past work, and he was always 
prepared with some plausible tale as to his movements, 
if she asked any questions. 

At the outset of their being together he had had to 
provide money for their living, but as soon as Marion 
had begun to earn anything at all, his contributions grew 
less and less in proportion as her earnings increased. For 
two years he had lived entirely upon her. Nor was this 
all. The house in which 1 they lived in Morris-place, 
Holloway, belonged to the old man; but he assumed 
such great and distressing anxiety if the rent was not 
ready at the moment it was due, that this was always the 
first thing to be paid. Simeon always said he would 

37 


38 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

take it to the agent himself, and every week he took it 
from the girl and brought her a receipt. 

“ It’s rent day, Marion,” he said to her one morning 
about a fortnight after the conversation about James 
Linnegan had taken place. “ It’s rent day. Are we 
ready for it ? ” 

“ Yes, father, of course we are. I wish you’d tell the 
agent that if he doesn’t send and do the repairs you told 
him about a week or two ago, we shall have them done 
and deduct the rent.” 

“ You can’t do that, child, you can’t do that,” an- 
swered Simeon, testily. “ Do you want us turned out ? 
I don’t see anything the matter. The rent we pay is 
very low and we can’t expect anything more.” 

“ Low, do you call it ? Eight shillings a week for 
two rooms and a half — for yours isn’t more than half 
a room, father. I call it very high.” 

“ No, no, my dear, you don’t know anything about it. 
The rooms are worth ten or twelve shillings. If we com- 
plain again, he’ll put the rent up ; sure to.” 

“ Will he,” answered the girl, with a laugh. “ Then 
we’ll leave, that’s all. I suppose they think that because 
you’re an old man and I’m a young girl, they can do as 
they like with us. But they can’t. Besides, I’m thinking 
seriously of moving so as to be nearer to my work.” 

“ Moving? ” cried Simeon, in a shrill, petulant tone, 
looking angrily at Marion. “ Moving, nonsense, Marion, 
we mustn’t do that. I’ve got used to the place now, and 
I shan’t' be here long to trouble you,” this with a whine, 
“ and I couldn’t bear to move. I’d sooner pay another two 
shillings more rent.” This was a safe liberality seeing 


Marion’s Father Does Not Come Home 39 

that it was Marion’s money out of which the rent was 
paid. 

“ Well, we won’t say anything, yet. But I have a plan 
father, that will make it necessary for us to be nearer 
the Strand, if I carry it out,” she answered quietly and 
firmly. 

“ I wish you wouldn’t take such plans into your head, 
child. You seem to be getting very self-willed.” 

“ No, no, father, not that. I have no plans except for 
our ultimate benefit. I want to work as much for you as 
myself, and this will be a good step forward, if I can 
manage to see my way.” 

“ You always say it is for my benefit, Marion ; that’s 
the nonsensical tale you make about that Ralph Gething. 
I wish you’d give him up. But there, one might as well 
wish for a hundred pounds — that’s a ridiculous wish 
enough, too ; ha, ha ! — as for you to give up what you’ve 
once determined to do.” He spoke angrily. 

Marion did not reply ; she was getting ready to go out. 

“ Don’t you hear me, Marion? ” he asked, crossly. 

“ Yes, father, I hear; but it is no use for me to say 
that which may only make you angry. Why are you 
prejudiced against Ralph?” 

“ Because he comes of a bad stock,” rapped out her 
father. 

“ What do you know of his family, then ? ” asked 
Marion, looking intently at her father. 

“ Eh ? What ? Why, anyone can see it, child, without 
knowing anything more about it,” answered Simeon, 
angry at having said what he did not wish to say. 

“ Oh, I see. Well, father, you mustn’t always be too 


40 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

quick to judge by the appearance of anyone whom you 
don't like. I’m afraid I can’t accept that as a reason for 
giving up Ralph,” said Marion, quietly. “ Well, I must 
go, or I shall be late. Will you take the rent as usual ? ” 

“ Yes, of course I will; do you want to have us turned 
out of house and home ? ” 

He held out his hand for the money, and counted it 
carefully as he received it. 

“ Smith won’t take this sixpence, Marion,” he said, 
putting on the table a coin that was a good deal worn. 

“ Then he must go with sixpence short, father,” she 
answered, with a laugh. “ I have no more silver; but I 
don’t think he’s so particular as all that. However, we 
must run the risk, this week I’m afraid.” 

“ Ah, it’s easy to turn it off with a laugh in that way, 
Marion ; but if you knew the battles I have had with him, 
and the way he examines every coin 1 give him, you would 
not laugh, I can tell you.” 

“ Well, I’ll see if I can find another for you,” she 
answered ; “ I don’t want to make the task unpleasant for 
you, dear. Yes, I have another; here it is. And now, do 
you want any money to-day from your little banker?” 
she asked, going to him and kissing him on the forehead. 

“ No, child, not to-day,” he replied, kissing her in re- 
turn. He was as fond of the girl as he could be of anyone 
beside himself. “Good-bye. Try to get home early; 
it’s lonesome to come back and find you away ; but don’t 
come if you can earn any money by a little extra work, 
of course. Here’s the packet.” 

“ Oh, that mysterious packet ; I had almost forgotten 
it.” He gave her a letter, as he spoke, done up in a 


Marion’s Father Does Not Come Home 41 


large envelope, and fastened with a number of large, red 
seals. 

“ You know the seals by this time, I suppose.” 

“ Yes,” answered the girl. “ The impressions are from 
that curious serpent seal of Mr. Ezra’s. But do you 
know you are subjecting me to a sore temptation — to 
give me the packet every morning, and to take it back 
again at night; to make me promise not to look at it — 
unless something happens that I hope and believe will 
never happen ; and to make me believe that it is some- 
thing as important as it is mysterious? Do you know, 
father, if I were like other girls my fingers would itch 
and burn and throb until they had broken the seals. It’s 
fortunate for you I’m not curious,” she ended with a 
very pleasant smile. 

“If you were like other girls, you wouldn’t have the 
packet at all, I can assure you. I may be wrong — perhaps 
I am, and perhaps shall laugh at it all some day, as you 
do now. But I don’t think so — I don’t think so. When 
I can laugh at it, perhaps I’ll tell you what it all means. 
But I can’t do either yet. So mind the packet. Guard it 
as if worth a lot of money, and if you ever miss me — 
open it. And, remember, that I was always glad you 
learnt type-writing, as that will always stand you in 
good stead, if you get into any difficulty.” 

“ Type-writing ! Why what on earth has that to do 
with the packet, father?” asked Marion, interrupting 
and smiling. 

“ Packet or no packet, child, the type-writing may 
always be a friend in need to you,” answered her father. 
“ Never forget that.” y 


42 


Miser Headley’s Secret 


He spoke so gloomily that the girl was touched. 

“ Good-bye, father, I must go, or I shall miss my 
tram. I wish you didn’t look so solemn and sorrowful. 
Good-bye; I declare you make me quite unwilling to 
leave you ; but I must go ; ” and she sighed and kissed 
him again and ran down the stairs. 

Before she reached the bottom of the stairs an impulse 
seized her to go back to him. It was a very unusual 
thing for her to yield to impulsive feelings of the kind, 
but this took a very strong hold of her, and she went 
up to the room again. She felt that as he seemed down- 
hearted, she would try and cheer him a little. 

She found him walking moodily up and down the 
room, with knitted brows, and thoughtful expression. 
She went to him and laid both hands on his shoulders. 

“ Don’t be down-hearted, dad,” she said, looking at him 
very affectionately, and speaking very gently. “ I hope 
to have such good news to tell you in a day or two.” 

“ Good news, Marion. What about?” 

“ Good news for us both, dear,” she answered. “ Good 
news about money. I think that in a few days from now 
I shall be able to tell you that I’ve doubled my income. 
Wouldn’t that be good news? I didn’t mean to tell you 
until it was all settled, and I wanted it to have been a 
surprise for my birthday, next week. But you seem in 
low spirits this morning, so I thought I’d just try to cheer 
you up a bit.” 

“ You’re a good girl, Marion ; a good, kind girl, and I 
haven’t treated you as I ought to have done. But maybe 
it will be all right some day,” said Simeon. Even his 
hard, selfish nature was touched by the girl’s simple, 


Marion’s Father Does Not Come Home 43 

tender kindness. “ You must not think too hardly of me, 
child/' 

“ Think hardly of you. No, no, not that. I should 
never do that, father. But now I must really go this 
time, or else my business reputation for punctuality will 
be spoiled. Good-bye. Fve given you something pleas- 
ant to think about, haven’t I? For after another three 
of four days, I do not mean you to do another stroke of 
work for the rest of your life. There, that’s my plan, 
and now it’s all out. Good-bye.” 

She kissed him again and laughed cheeringly, and then 
went hurriedly away. 

“Should I tell her?” said Simeon, standing where 
she had left him, and looking at the door as if she was in 
sight. The girl had for once pierced through the thick 
surface of the man’s selfishness, and he was more deeply 
stirred than he had been for many, many years. “ What 
would she say? Could I trust her, or would she be then 
like other women, and want to spend, and spend, and 
spend, until every shilling was gone. No,” he said, shak- 
ing his head, as he resumed his walk up and down the 
room. “ No ; she wouldrt’t forgive me. And I couldn’t 
bear to see every penny wasted, after it’s taken me years 
to get together. No ; she’s a good girl — like her mother. 
But it wouldn’t do to tell her. At least not yet — not 
yet,” and soon afterwards he put on his hat, and took 
his old stick, and set off for Clergy-street. 

Marion that evening was punctual in her appointment 
with Ralph. They were to meet near to the Angel at 
Islington. Ralph always came along the City Road, and 
Marion had walked up Pentonville Hill to the Angel, 


44 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


where they were to meet and walk to Holloway together. 
When the girl reached the place, however, her lover was 
not there. 

She had a great deal to think about, as the project of 
her starting an office on her own account was ripening 
fast, and she would have to decide definitely in a day or 
two. She had made up her mind to take the plunge, but 
there were a number of arrangements to be considered and 
details to be completed, and her thoughts ran very easily 
and readily to them, whenever she was not at work. She 
walked up and down thinking carefully and intently, 
and did not pay anything like such heed as she would 
have done usually, to the time that slipped by. A quarter- 
past seven came; half-past; a quarter to eight; and at 
last eight o’clock boomed out from a neighboring clock, 
and Ralph had not come. 

Something had kept him, thought Marion, and she 
stood at the busy comer and looked for him along the 
City Road. She felt that she must not stay any longer, 
as her father would be waiting; and she decided to get 
into a tramcar. 

As soon as she had formed the decision : for with her 
in small just as in large matters, she was promptness itself 
in taking a course upon which she had once fixed: she 
crossed the road to get into a car, and at that moment, 
Ralph came running up. 

“ I’m so sorry, Marion, but I couldn’t get away. 
I was kept at the office by a man — I was afraid 
you’d be gone. I didn’t a bit expect to find you here 
still.” 

“ 1 didn’t see you, Ralph,” answered Marion. “ And 


Marion’s Father Does Not Come Home 45 

I quite strained my eyes trying to look down the City 
Road. I was just going.” 

“ I — I came the other way, up here,” pointing to 
the Great John Street Hill, which leads up from Cierken- 
well — “ I had an appointment on a matter.” He was so 
breathless with the haste he had made that he appeared 
almost confused. 

“ You are out of breath, Ralph*” said Marion. “ Have 
you run all the way from the office? You shouldn’t run 
like that.” 

“ No, I haven’t come from the office. I had to meet 
a man in Clerk — down that' way,” throwing his hand 
generally in the direction of Clerkenwell, “ down Far- 
ringdon Street way; and this, you know is the nearest 
way through.” 

“ Why you said just this moment that you were kept 
at the office, Ralph,” said the girl, laughing merrily. 
“ You’ll have to tell me better tales than that, sir,” she 
said, playfully, “ or else I shall easily catch you in any 
little peccadilloes.” 

“ Shall I ? Oh, very well. But if I have to put a 
guard on my tongue for every five words that I speak, 
it won’t always be very pleasant,” answered Ralph Geth- 
ing, crossly and rather coarsely. Marion was surprised 
and hurt at the rebuff. 

“ You will have no need to put a guard on your tongue, 
until you do, or think, things which, you want to hide 
from me, Ralph ; and that will be a bad day for us both, 
and a sad day, too. I meant nothing but banter in what 
I said ; and should have thought nothing, if you had not 
seemed to take what I said so seriously.” 


46 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

The man glanced up at her, as if a little startled at her 
last words. 

“ I am sorry, Marion. Forgive me. I was angry 
with myself for being so late, and angry with those who 
kept me. There was nothing more.” But there seemed 
to be some restraint in his words which affected the 
girl; an absence of complete truthfulness which jarred 
upon her. There was nothing which roused her resent- 
ment more quickly than any form of deception or con- 
cealment. It was so absolutely foreign to her own nature 
and instincts, that a suspicion of it was enough to disquiet 
her. 

“ I did not ask you where you had been, Ralph. I should 
not do that, you know. You volunteered what you said, 
as if in explanation, and I was only laughing when I 
pointed out your contradiction of your own story. But I 
am sorry I did that, as it annoyed you.” 

“No,, dear, it didn’t annoy me really. It was only 
a slip of the tongue,” said Ralph Gething, who had now 
recovered his composure in a great measure. 

But the incident produced an unpleasant effect upon 
Marion and the man’s crossness served to impress upon 
her memory what she might otherwise have forgotten 
directly. The walk was not so enjoyable as usual, and 
there was a constraint which did not wear off all the 
way to Morris-place, and the girl was a little low-spirited 
when they parted. 

Her father had not returned, and Marion made haste 
to get some tea ready for him ; and when she had done 
this, sat down to wait. 

Although she had her business plans to occupy her 


Marion’s Father Does Not Come Home 47 

mind — and the little difference between Ralph and herself 
could not but make her thoughtful — she began to grow 
uneasy when a neighboring clock struck ten, and her 
father had not yet returned. 

He was very rarely out after nine or half-past nine; 
and on almost every former occasion he had told her 
beforehand of any intended absence. 

Her anxiety increased as the time passed, and when 
another hour had gone by, and eleven o’clock struck, her 
nervousness deepened into positive fear of some harm 
having happened to him. She listened to every footfall in 
the street, and went constantly to the window to see if 
there were any signs of his coming. 

All the gloomy forebodings which had oppressed her 
father during the last few days recurred to her memory 
and added to her dread. 

She could not go to bed while he was absent, and 
thus she passed hour after hour in great distress, her 
fears growing with every hour. Early in the morning 
she fell asleep from sheer weariness, but after an hour 
or two she woke with a violent start from a dream which 
her anxiety and dread had caused. 

Her father had not returned, and she passed a weary 
time of vigil, full of distressing thoughts of possible 
evil and of vague, uncertain ideas of the steps she ought 
to take, if he did not return by daylight, or let her hear 
something of his movements. 

But when the morning came the girl was still waiting 
and watching wearily, without tidings of any kind. 


CHAPTER V 

MARION LEARNS THE TRUTH 

Marion was very loath to go to the office without 
making some special efforts to find out why her father 
had not returned; but as there was a great pressure of 
work, and one of the girl-clerks was absent, she felt 
compelled to go. 

It was a proof of her great powers of concentration 
and resolution that she was able to do her work with 
her accustomed skill and speed, notwithstanding the 
harassing anxieties that distressed her, and the fatigue 
and weariness caused by the sleepless, restless vigil of 
the night. 

She arranged, however, to leave the office early, ex- 
plaining that she was much troubled by certain matters 
at home. She hurried to Morris-place with all speed, 
in the hope that her father would have arrived home. 

But he was not there, and there was no news of him. 

It was now clear to her that she must take some 
measures to find out what had become of him. His ab- 
sence could not be the result of accident. She felt sure 
that, knowing she would be anxious about him, he would 

48 


Marion Learns the Truth 


49 


have sent her some kind of message to explain his ab- 
sence, if he had been free to do this. She must therefore 
find him. 

But how was she to do it? What course was she 
to take ? These questions occurred to her readily enough, 
but they were as difficult to answer as they were easy 
to ask. 

Her first thought was of Ralph Gething. It was 
very likely he would know what to do. He was in a 
lawyer's office, and no doubt would be able to advise 
her well enough. 

She went out immediately, and walked to the house 
where he lived. It was not far away. She knew he 
would not yet be back from the office, but she determined 
to leave word for him to come to her the moment he 
reached home. She left the message with Mrs. Gething, 
and the latter asked her if anything was the matter, as 
she saw that Marion was pale and troubled. But the 
girl did not say anything as to the cause of her trouble. 
She was quiet calm and self-possessed, though pale and 
rather weary; and she left at once to return to Morris- 
place. 

On the way it occurred to her that it would be best 
to telegraph to Ralph, to urge him to come to her imme- 
diately, and she did this. She said nothing more in the 
telegram than that she must see Ralph immediately. 

Then she went back home. There was no news there ; 
and the girl worried and fretted, thinking what ought to 
be done. 

About half an hour after her return a telegram arrived. 

She tore it open with feverish haste and trembling 


So 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


fingers ; hoping it was from her father, but doubting the 
possibility of his going to the expense of a telegram. 

It was from Ralph. 

“ Am detained now. Cannot get away till late — prob- 
ably nine o’clock — will come then. R.” 

She threw it down on the table with a gesture of dis- 
appointment. It was now about half-past five. If Ralph 
left the office at nine o’clock he could not' arrive be- 
fore half-past nine at the earliest moment. There were 
four hours of inaction and waiting, and then it would 
probably be too late to do anything that night. The sus- 
pense was unbearable. 

She must act for herself — she felt that now. She 
had better go to the police and give them a description 
of her father. She disliked this course very much, but 
there was nothing else to do. She could not, however, 
make up her mind to do it at once, and resolved to wait 
one hour longer. If her father did not return at half- 
past six, she determined to go to the police. 

In the meantime she felt the need of taking some 
food. She had had nothing all day. It was impossible 
to tell what might be ahead of her — what trouble, work, 
or anxiety — taxing all her strength to the utmost, and 
calling for all her resources of mind and body, and she 
knew that she must husband these in every way. 

She therefore cooked herself a substantial meal, and 
ate it, though without any appetite. It was her duty, 

’ and she compelled her disinclination to give way to her 
will. 

At half-past six there were still no signs of her father, 
and she put on her hat and jacket to go to the police. 


Marion Learns the Truth 51 

As she was putting on the jacket some association of 
ideas made her remember for the first time the packet 
which her father had given her. 

“ How stupid of me to forget it till this moment/' 
she exclaimed. “ But I never thought of it. Poor 
father/' she murmured, as she held the envelope to the 
light of the lamp, and examined the old man's scratchy, 
scrawling writing upon it. 

It was a large sized commercial envelope, made of 
thick, rough paper, and was rather crumpled and dirty 
now, through having been kept in the pocket of father and 
daughter. There were no less than five impressions of 
the peculiar snake seal, in red wax, on the back, and of 
these only two were cracked. Three remained quite 
perfect, and as the girl looked at them she recalled the 
two occasions on which she herself had seen the seal in 
her father's hands. 

Then she hesitated a little as to whether she ought 
to open the packet yet, or wait a little longer. 

“*If you ever miss- me, open it ! " had been her father's 
words, among the last he had spoken to her. 

On the envelope, moreover, there was a direction to 
the same effect. “ This envelope is to be opened by 
none but Marion Jannaway; and by her, only, in the 
event of my not returning home to Morris-place at any 
time." 

This determined her, and she cut one end of the 
envelope, in order not to break the seals, and drew out 
the contents. 

The words that she read filled the girl with astonish- 
ment and amazement. 


52 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ Marion, — If you have obeyed my wishes, you have 
not opened this until you have missed me. I have a 
strange story to tell you ; one that will move you deeply. 
I have deceived you ; have been constantly deceiving you 
for many years. I am writing this to let you know the 
truth in the event of that happening, which I have a 
presentiment is going to happen very soon — my death. I 
have lived a double life, under a double name. To you I 
have always been your father, Simeon Jannaway, poor, 
struggling, helpless, and dependent. Others have known 
my real name, Simeon Hoadley, of 50 Clergy-street, 
Clerkenwell. It is there that you must seek tidings of 
me, when you miss me. There is only one man in the 
world who knows that I am not poor as you have thought 
me ; who knows that years ago, I was what many people 
would call rich. That man is my deadly enemy. Five 
years ago he attempted to murder me ; and was punished 
for his crime, by being sentenced to penal servitude for 
twenty years. Then, he took an oath that he would 
kill me, if I was alive when he came out of prison. He 
is already free and is likely at any moment to kill me. His 
motives are two — hatred of me, and desire for my riches. 
Do you understand that, Marion? Riches. I am richl 
I, who seemed never to have a penny piece ; who took your 
earnings to pay for my food and lodgings ; who went in 
rags, and boasted to you when I had earned a shilling; 
am rich beyond your wildest dreams. If I am dead when 
you read this, look for my murderer in that man. His 
name is one I told you never to forget : James Linnegan. 
Remember, James Linnegan. The police know him well. 


Marion Learns the Truth 5 3 

Tell them it is he who has killed me, and remind them 
of his threat to murder me, uttered in the court when he 
was convicted, five years ago. 

“ Now, remember also that you will have all I possess. 
Everything will be yours; everything; but on this condi- 
tion. You must revenge my murder; hunt down my 
murderer without mercy; hunt him down to death. I 
charge this upon you. He thinks to kill an old 
helpless man without any friends to avenge him. 
It is your task, your work, your solemn duty to prove 
him mistaken, to prove that I am not helpless nor with- 
out friends, but that you are powerful enough to bring 
him to justice. 

“ As to his designs upon my wealth, I have taken 
measures to thwart them. Just as you will prove that 
he is mistaken in thinking he can murder me with im- 
punity; so you will have the wealth he covets. His lust 
for riches shall destroy him. Go to the manager of the 
Clerkenwell branch of the Capital Bank, where you went 
with me recently when I pretended to you that I would 
get you some typewriting work. Give him the enclosed 
letter and he will explain all to you, and give you certain 
papers which I have deposited with him. The papers 
that you will receive at the bank are my will made in your 
favor; a list of all I possess, fastened to my will, and 
the deeds of the house in Clergy-street, and that in Morris- 
place. Both are mine. Now, bear this in mind. Do not 
sell a stick or stone of either house, until you have read 
all the papers at the bank. This is most urgent. Read 
them; learn them; study them until you understand 


54 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

them. You alone perhaps will ever be able to read them. 
If you are beaten in any of your struggles, remember that 
you have always your typewriter to rely upon. Remem- 
ber this always. You have been a good, faithful daughter, 
prove your love now, by avenging me. I leave you all I 
possess, on this one condition. 

“ Look for my murderer in James Linnegan. 

“ Simeon Hoadley. 

“ Known to you as — Simeon Jannaway.” 

The first effect of this letter upon Marion was to con- 
fuse and frighten and distress her beyond measure. 

Had she been a woman accustomed to give way to her 
feelings, she would not improbably have fainted, or 
turned hysterical. 

Instead of this, however, when the first dazed feeling 
had passed off, the letter had the effect of bracing up her 
energies and resolution. It gave her what she had especi- 
ally needed, before reading it — a definite plan of action. 

She read it again, slowly and deliberately, pausing at 
many parts of it to consider their significance, and tried 
to grasp the full meaning of all that was written. 

When she had finished the second reading, she had come 
to the opinion that her father was dead. 

In her heart there was no feeling of resentment against 
him for all that he had made her suffer needlessly; no 
thought of his selfishness, miserliness, harshness, petty 
cruelty, meanness, or deceit. 

She was full of deep regret at his loss, and hot anger 
against those who had killed him. 

A set impression sharpened her clear, resolute features 


Marion Learns the Truth 


55 

as she walked about the room, holding the letter in her 
hand, and thinking of her father. 

She recalled all the better traits of his character and 
none of the harsher. She thought of what he had done 
for her, and magnified it many times over, remembering 
nothing that was not good. He was her father ; he had 
acted according to his nature ; had done what had seemed 
good to him. They had not looked at life from the same 
standpoint ; but he had never sought to turn her from the 
course which she had thought right. Such as she was, she 
owed it all to him. Now that he was gone, she was ready 
to credit him with everything, and her memory inspired 
by her charity, painted out the man’s faults and vices and 
foibles, with glowing colors taken from the palette of her 
own nobleness of nature. 

To her he had been kind, after his own way, and she 
accepted in all sincerity and strength the charge he had 
laid upon her. If he was dead — and she believed he was 
— she would do her utmost to bring the murderer to 
justice. She swore no fanciful, romantic vendetta; but 
the fortune that he had left to her — whatever might be 
the amount — should be devoted to the purpose for which 
it had been left ! and no effort of hers should be spared 
to bring this miscreant to justice. 

She was quiet, calm, resolute, decided and brave, as she 
came to this conclusion, and with customary promptness 
she prepared to take immediate action. 

What was to be the first step ? Should she go at once to 
Clergy-street, or to the police? She decided to go first to 
Clergy-street. She went to the window and looked out. 
It was a dark, drizzling, foggy evening. It was all the 


56 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


better to hide her movements, she thought, as she put the 
papers into her pocket and started upon her strange 
errand. 

While she was in the tramcar on her way to Clerken- 
well, one result of the news contained in her father’s letter 
which had not struck her before, occurred to her. If his 
name was not Jannaway, but Hoadley, she herself was 
really Marion Hoadley. 

The name sounded strange and unpleasant to her ears, 
as she repeated it to herself several times, in a whisper. 
She did not like it, and did not like to have to make any 
change. 

As Marion Jannaway she was known everywhere in the 
little world in which she lived. If she had to tell every- 
body that her name was not Jannaway, but Hoadley, she 
might have to enter into explanations and reasons for the 
change; moreover, she reflected, shrewdly enough, that 
if she herself had to take any direct part in tracing out this 
mystery, she could do so with greater advantage as 
Marion Jannaway than as Marion Hoadley ; and this 
made her resolve that she would put off the change of 
name as long as possible. 

When she reached the Angel, it was raining fast, and 
she drew her waterproof closely round her as she left the 
car. 

A constable told her the way to Clergy-street, and 
looked at her as if in some surprise that she should ask 
for such a street. 

“ It’s a roughish sort of street, miss,” he added, “ with 
none of the best characters in some of the houses. It’s 


Marion Learns the Truth 


57 

one of those streets that look best by daylight,” he said, 
drily. 

She thanked him for his caution, but hastened at once 
to make her way to the place. She found it without much 
difficulty, and then realised all that the policeman had 
meant by his words. 

It was a little, narrow street, with small houses on either 
side, and looked anything but a safe and inviting place. 
But the task which the girl had to perform was not one 
in which she was to allow fancies or prejudices to stand 
in the way. 

She thought for a moment that her father might be in 
danger, perhaps at that moment in need of help ; and she 
plunged without hesitation into the gloomy, wretched 
looking street. 


CHAPTER VI 


“ THERE IS DEATH IN THE ROOM ” 

Marion was a brave, and, indeed, a daring girl, but 
her heart beat very quickly, as she passed one or, two men, 
who were loitering at the street corner and in some of the 
doorways. She took no notice of them, or seemed to take 
none, but walked on, as if she knew the street well. 

She was wondering which was the house, No. 50, be- 
longing to her father. The houses were all built on the 
same plan, just the ground floor with one story above; 
the front door being on a level with the pavement. She 
could not read the numbers on the door in passing, as the 
figures on the little oval plates were too small. 

About thirty or forty yards down the street on the right 
hand side, was a lamp which threw its light on two doors. 
She slackened her pace, and by going close to these, she 
managed to read the numbers. They were 15 and 17. 
This showed her that she was on the wrong side of the 
road. She crossed over and made for a lamp some dis- 
tance along on the opposite side. The number on a door 
near to it was 34. 

No. 50 would be the eighth house from that. 

Marion scanned the houses very closely as she passed 
them ; and she noticed that No. 40 was the first of a row of 

SB 


“ There is Death in the Room” 


59 


houses of a rather different character. They stood higher, 
the front doors having two steps leading up from the 
pavement. They appeared to be better built and stronger, 
while the frontage was wider. 

As she passed, she heard from one or two of the houses 
sounds of singing, shouting and quarrelling ; the voices of 
men and women roaring some noisy chorus, varied with 
bursts of rude, rough laughter, with here and there oaths 
and fierce angry words. But in the houses next to No. 50, 
all was still and quiet enough. 

She stood for a moment when she reached the house, 
and looked at the windows and door, and hesitated what 
to do. But it was only for a moment. The thought that 
her father might be there, urged her to action, and finding 
the bell-handle, she pulled it vigorously. The bell seemed 
to be situated close to the door, for she heard it very dis- 
tinctly, and could even note its sound as its edge struck 
against the wall or some other obstacle, owing to the 
violence with which the handle had been pulled. 

Marion strained her ears to listen, but all she could 
hear was the sound of the bell as it clanged and echoed 
through the house; and when that died away, all was 
silent and still as the grave. 

If there had been anyone in the house able and willing 
to open the door, they must have heard the peal of the 
bell. Marion recognised this, and regarded it as con- 
firmation of her former fears. 

There was a knocker on the door, and her next act was 
to use this in long, loud, vigorous raps. Then she listened 
as eagerly as before ; but not a sound could she hear. 

Then she tried the door; but it was securely fastened. 


6o 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


Next, she went to the window and tried if that would 
open ; but it resisted her efforts. 

She knocked and rang once more, but getting no reply, 
and hearing one or two windows and doors open close at 
hand, she turned away and walked quickly up the street, 
to go to the police. There was no alternative left. 

She had not walked many steps before she perceived 
that she was being watched and followed. She quickened 
her pace in order to reach the end of the street, but she 
heard the man, who was following, begin to run. She 
looked back, but through the fog and mist, she could see 
little more than a shadow, bending down close to the 
houses and coming after her at a quick pace. 

She stepped from the pavement into the roadway and 
began to run. The end of the street was not more than 
fifty yards away. Then a shrill whistle was given by the 
man behind, and was answered from two directions in 
front of her. She was evidently hemmed in, and soon 
heard footsteps coming towards her. 

She stopped, undecided what to do, and then crossed 
the road and stood still in the shadow of one of the houses. 
But she was seen and followed, both by the man behind 
her and one of those in front. 

She began to regret her rashness in having come into 
the place alone, and was wondering what the men would 
do to her, when another whistle sounded from the end of 
the street' ahead, and all the three men walked rapidly 
away from her, and disappeared in the mist. She walked 
and ran as fast as she could to the end of the street, and 
found there the reason for the change of the men’s actions, 


“ There is Death in the Room ” 


61 

Two policemen stood at the corner. She went up to 
them at once, and asked to be taken to the nearest police 
station that she might see the Inspector. 

The policemen at first were inclined to be suspicious, 
and questioned her closely as to her reasons for wishing 
this. But Marion parried all their questions by merely 
repeating what she wished. 

After some hesitation, they told her where the station 
was, and then one of them walked with her. 

“ You wish to see me? ” asked the Inspector, coming to 
Marion after he had heard the report of the constable. 

He was a tall, pleasant-looking, bearded man, with a 
grave, kindly manner. 

“ What is it you want? I am Inspector Martin.” 

“ I should like to speak to you privately,” said Marion, 
glancing round at the other men who were in the office. 

“ Certainly. Will you come this way? ” He led Marion 
to a private room, placed a chair for her, and sat down 
at a large office table, and turned towards her to listen to 
what she might wish to say. 

Marion felt rather diffident at first, and scarcely knew 
how to begin the story she had to tell. She paused a 
moment to collect her thoughts. 

“ I have come to you because I am in trouble — great 
trouble,” she said. 

The Inspector bowed, but did not speak. 

“ My father who is old, and feeble, and helpless — ” 
then she hesitated, as the words of his letter recurred to 
her memory and seemed to belie this statement — “ at least 
— yes, he is old and feeble, and he has disappeared. He 


62 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


should have come home to me yesterday evening, but I 
waited for him all night in vain, and all day to-day, and 
I have reason to fear there has been foul play.” 

“ Ah,” said the man, breaking silence. “ Let me ask 
what is your name and where do you live ? ” 

“ My name is Marion Jannaway, I live at 18 Morris- 
place, Halloway. My father’s Christian name is Simeon. 
But, I believe — ” here she hesitated again — “ that he is 
also known by another name.” 

“ You are his daughter and believe this — you do not 
know it ? What is the other name ? ” This was asked 
with some suspicion. 

“ Hoadley — Simeon Hoadley,” answered Marion. 

“ What ? Old Simeon Hoadley, of Clergy-street ? ” 
exclaimed the Inspector. 

“ Do you know him, then ? ” asked Marion, looking up 
at the other’s face. A new fear had occurred to her, lest 
his disappearance could be accounted for on reasons of 
police. 

“ Yes, I know him — by repute,” answered the Inspector, 
much more guardedly. “ You are his daughter, you say ? 
I thought you gave me the name of Jannaway? ” 

“ Yes ! ” replied Marion. “ But I have only learnt since 
yesterday, since he has been away, indeed, that his name 
was Hoadley. 1 had never heard of Clergy-street, and 
did not know that he ever went there.” 

“ How did you learn this ? ” asked the Inspector, sus- 
piciously. 

“ That, I cannot explain at present,” said Marion, after 
a moment’s consideration, during which she decided not 
to mention the letter from her father. “ I will do so 


“ There is Death in the Room 


should it become necessary,” she added, seeing that her 
reply produced an unfavorable impression. “ I know also 
that for some time he has been in fear of violence from 
someone who had threatened him, and that he was in 
dread of death.” 

“ Do you know the nature of Simeon Hoadley’s busi- 
ness or occupation at Clergy-street?” asked the Inspec- 
tor, looking searchingly at her. 

“ No,” answered Marion, readily. “ As I have said, 
until an hour or two ago, I had no idea that he ever went 
to the house.” 

“ How did he earn his money to maintain you, then ? 
Do you know that ? ” 

“ I have maintained him,” replied Marion gently. “ J 
am engaged at the type-writing office of Mrs. Gunthry, 
where I have been for four years, and during more than 
half of that time, I have maintained my father, whom I 
have always regarded as unable to work. Before that, I 
was in the Hemel Work School, at first as an ordinary 
child inmate. I was educated there — afterwards, I stayed 
for a year as class superintendent. You can make any 
inquiries you please.” 

“ I do not doubt you,” replied the Inspector. “ But 
your story is a very peculiar one. What do you wish me 
to do for you ? ” 

“ I should like the house in Clergy-street forced open 
and searched. I am afraid of foul play,” replied Marion, 
instantly and decidedly. “ I have been to the house my- 
self, to-night, and have rung and knocked, but could make 
no one hear.” 

“ You have been to the house to-night? ” asked the In- 


64 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

spector, looking at the girl in astonishment. “ Did you 
know the character of the street? Were you alone? ” 

“ Yes, I was alone. A constable to whom I spoke at 
the Angel warned me ; but I could not think of risk when 
I remembered that my father might he in want of help. 
But I know now that 1 acted rashly; as I was followed, 
and I should have been robbed, I think, if two constables 
had not happened to come to the end of the street at the 
moment.” 

“ You are a brave girl, Miss Jannaway,” said the In- 
spector, admiringly. “ I will do what you wish and send 
at once to Clergy-street.” 

“ I should wish to go as well, if you please/’ said 
Marion. 

Then the Inspector went out of the room for a minute, 
and when he returned, he was accompanied by a red- 
haired, clean-shaven man, not in uniform and rather 
shabbily dressed. 

This was Detective-Sergeant Mostyn, who, as the In- 
spector said, would take the matter in hand. Inspector 
Martin told the detective all that Marion had said. 

“ Better go at once, sir,” he said, rising directly the 
Inspector had finished. “ I can ask any questions as I 
go along. Should I take some one with me ? ” 

“Yes, take Adams with you. Let me know at once, 
if you make any important discovery.” 

“ Yes, sir,” replied Mostyn, and Marion saw a mean- 
ing look pass between the two men, which at the time 
she misinterpreted through not knowing Simeon Hoad- 
ley’s evil reputation among the police. 

Marion and the detectiye left the station together, and 


“ There is Death in the Room” 65 


they were joined very soon by another constable in plain 
clothes. Acting on instructions from Sergeant Mostyn 
he hurried on in front of them and was soon lost in 
the mist. 

“ Are you Miss Jannaway, or Miss Hoadley, if you 
please,” asked the detective, when they had walked some 
little distance in silence. “ Excuse my asking the question, 
but I did not gather this from Mr. Martin.” 

“ I am known as Miss Jannaway,” answered Marion. 

“ What is your reason for suspecting foul play ? ” 

This was a home thrust, but Marion parried it. 

“ Chiefly because of my father’s fears of ill-treatment,” 
she said. 

After that the man asked no more questions, and the 
two walked quickly in the direction of Clergy-street. 
As they were crossing a road near to Clergy-street, 
Marion stopped and gave a little exclamation of surprise. 

“ Ralph ! ” she cried, as they came upon a man stand- 
ing at a corner of a street. “ Ralph, is that you ? ” 

“ Marion,” exclaimed Ralph Gething, in a tone of 
astonishment. “What on earth are you doing here? 
Who is this ? ” 

Sergeant Mostyn looked at the two suspiciously. It 
was his custom whenever anything surprised him to re- 
gard it as unfavorable to those persons whom it might 
concern, until a full explanation had been given. It 
was a side application of the general principle that under- 
lay his conception of criminal investigation ; that all 
people are guilty who cannot prove their innocence at a 
moment’s notice. 

He stopped a moment and looked inquiringly at Marion. 


66 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ This is Detective-Sergeant Mostyn, Ralph,” she said, 
addressing her lover; and then she told him some of the 
circumstances which had brought her there. 

They walked together, Ralph and Marion, a little be- 
hind the detective. 

“ I thought you could not get away, Ralph,” she said. 
“ I received your telegram.” 

“ Oh, yes. I was detained, but I managed to get out 
a little bit earlier and came here as I had to meet a 
man. But I was just coming on to Morris-place.” He 
added the last words as if they were an after-thought, and 
he was so evidently constrained and confused that Marion 
felt a little uneasy. 

“ Where are you going now ? ” asked Ralph, a mo- 
ment afterwards ; he had not understood what Marion had 
told him. 

“ To my father’s house here in Clergy-street,” an- 
swered Marion. “ I am afraid that he has met with 
some mishap.” 

“ What ? ” exclaimed Ralph Gething, stopping in his 
walk. “ You don’t mean that? ” 

“ I do,” answered Marion. “ I fear that the worst 
happened to him last night, and that he is dead.” 

“ Great heavens,” cried her companion, “ how awful ! 
Whom do you suspect?” And then, while the girl’s 
eyes were fixed on him, he seemed to make a great effort 
to recover himself, and walked on by her side. 

Sergeant Mostyn and the constable, Adams, were al- 
ready engaged in trying the door and windows carefully, 
and in examining the whole house closely from the out- 
side, when Marion and Ralph Gething arrived. 


“ There is Death in the Room ” 67 


“ This is Mr. Ralph Gething,” said Marion to Ser- 
geant Mostyn. “ A great, a very great friend of mine.” 

“ Yes ? ” was the reply, spoken interrogatively. “ And 
of your father’s as well ? ” 

“ Miss Jannaway and 1 are engaged to be married,” 
put in Ralph, and Marion noticed that his voice had not 
even yet quite recovered its ordinary tone. 

The detective seemed satisfied with the answer, and 
turned to his companion. 

“ Before we knock or ring, Adams, I think you had bet- 
ter get round to the back. You know the archway down 
below here, some fifty yards. You can get from there 
along the back walls. Examine the back doors and win- 
dows carefully, and let me know when you have done so 
by knocking pretty smartly at the back door. I shall hear 
you.” 

The man went away quickly, and the other three 
waited in silence for the signal. 

As soon as he heard it, Sergeant Mostyn rang loudly 
and knocked vigorously at the front door. There was 
no response. He repeated the ring and knocked again 
more loudly than before, but without producing the 
slightest effect. “ There is no one in the house — no one 
alive, that is,” he said without thinking to whom he 
spoke. “ We had better make a way in. Have you any 
keys of the house ? ” he asked. 

“ No, none,” replied Marion. 

“ We shall probably be able to get in more easily from 
the back,” he said, “ and certainly without causing so 
much notice to be taken of us. Are you afraid to stop 
here, while I go round to the back ? ” 


68 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ No, I think not,” answered Marion, not very con- 
fidently. ‘‘You won’t be long, shall you?” 

“No, not more than a few minutes.” 

Marion and Ralph stood close together, well under the 
shadow of the house, and scarcely spoke during the time 
of the detectives absence. They heard more than one 
window put up; and voices, speaking in gruff whispers, 
seemed to come to them through the mist. Some foot- 
steps sounded on the pavement but they saw no one. 

Soon they heard a slight noise inside the house, and 
Marion took Ralph’s hand and clasped it rather tightly. 
The next few minutes would, she knew, be of the utmost 
import to her, and she braced up every nerve in her body. 

Someone was creeping cautiously along the passage 
to the front door and it was opened almost noiselessly. 
Sergeant Mostyn signed to them both to enter, and they 
passed quickly up the steps and into the house, while the 
man closed the door behind them, immediately. 

“ Please to make as little noise as possible,” he whis- 
pered. 

Then to Marion he put a trap question, so naturally 
that had she been deceiving him, she might' readily have 
been caught. 

“ Which was your father’s room ? ” he asked. 

“ I don’t know,” she whispered, in reply. 

“ This one ! ” answered Ralph Gething, in the same 
breath. “ At least,” he added, greatly confused. “ I 
think so — I should think so that is. It is the most likely 
room.” 

“ So it is,” answered Sergeant Mostyn, seeming to take 
no more notice of the answer. 


“ There is Death in the Room ” 69 


But Marion strained her eyes in the darkness in the 
direction of her lover, wondering how he could possibly 
have such information. 

“How did you know that, Ralph ?” she whispered, 
and the detective was wild with her for asking the 
question, when he overheard her. 

“ I didn’t know it, Marion. I only guessed that it 
would probably be his room, as it is the most likely 
one for an office.” And at this reply, Sergeant Mostyn 
forgave Marion for having asked the question, while the 
girl was startled that Ralph could have gained so much 
knowledge of her father’s secret life as to be aware that 
he had had an “ office.” 

“ I think you had better not come into the room at first, 
Miss Jannaway,” said Mostyn, with more consideration 
for Marion's feelings than he had yet shewn. “ Adams 
and I will make the search.” 

“ I am not afraid, thank you, Mr. Mostyn,” said 
Marion, bravely, “ and I would rather go in with 
you.” 

“ Just as you please. Adams, shew your lantern here.” 

The man flashed a bull’s eye lantern on to the door 
and examined the fastenings. It was locked from the 
outside and the key still remained in the lock. 

The sergeant turned it, and taking the lantern from 
the other man, opened the door and entered. Adams 
followed him closely, and Marion came after them. 

Before she could enter the room, however, Mostyn 
uttered an exclamation and drew back. 

“ Miss Jannaway, you must prepare yourself for the 
worst,” he said, quietly and respectfully. “There is 


7 ° 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


death in the room. Adams, go at once for a doctor, and 
then run to the station and tell the Inspector.” 

He flashed the light for a moment on Ralph’s face 
as if by accident. It was white and drawn and terror- 
stricken. 

In the meantime, Marion had rushed into the room 
and called eagerly to the detective to bring her a light 
that she might see her father. 


CHAPTER VII 


A SURPRISE AT THE BANK 

At ten o’clock the next morning, Sergeant Mostyn 
was at Morris-place to see Marion. The latter had 
slept very little after the experiences of the previous 
night, and she looked, as she felt, weary, depressed, and 
forlorn. 

The scene at Clergy-street, when it was discovered 
that Simeon Hoadley was dead, and had been mur- 
dered, had been very painful ; and it was only after 
long and urgent entreaty that the girl had consented 
to leave the house at all. Inspector Martin and the 
doctor who had been called in, joined with Ralph to 
get her to leave, and she had yielded a reluctant consent. 
Probably she would have persisted in her refusal if the 
Inspector had not pointed out that she would aid the 
course of investigation into the mystery by leaving the 
place in the hands of the police. 

The feeling of anger against the murderers and of 
keen anxiety to trace them out, became intense, and 
she was determined that' no effort should be spared 
to effect the discovery. It was to be the purpose of her 
life, and to it she would devote every energy and power 
that she possessed. 


7 1 


7 2 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ You keep up wonderfully, miss,” said the detec- 
tive, when she came into the room. He had been much 
impressed by the girl’s courage on the previous night, 
and admired her accordingly. “ Most young women 
would be quite knocked over by such an affair as this,” 
he added. 

“ I am not altogether like other girls, perhaps, in 
some things,” replied Marion ; “ but will you tell me the 
result of anything you may have discovered ? ” 

“We made a search of the premises last night, so 
far as we could, and we shall continue to do it to-day.” 

“Yes; and what did you discover?” 

“ Very little indeed, so far, some might think. But 
we found what was probably the cause of the deed.” 

“ Yes ! What was that? ” asked Marion, eagerly. 

“ Robbery. A good many places in the room have 
been disturbed ; the safe has been opened and ran- 
sacked, and everything of value taken out of it. Every 
box or case of every kind in it has been opened and 
left open. The drawers in it have been opened also, and 
the contents taken away. There is an old bureau in the 
room, and that has also been forced, and every drawer 
turned inside out, and every paper pulled over and thor- 
oughly ransacked; everything in it was in the greatest 
confusion. The drawers of the table have been served 
in the same way, and the papers in the book-shelves 
treated just in the same manner. Whatever was of the 
slightest value seems to have been taken away — if there 
was anything of value there — and only the rubbish left. 
Was there much in the house of value?” he asked, 
quickly, turning suddenly to Marion. 


73 


A Surprise at the Bank 

" I don’t know. 1 cannot say for certain. I was never 
in the house until last night with you, and am absolutely 
ignorant of what may have been in it,” answered Marion. 

“Yes, that’s what I thought — but still I hoped you 
might know, or be able to guess something.” 

“ I have reason to think there may have been money 
and other valuable property there; but I cannot say for 
certain.” 

“ What makes you think that ? ” asked the detective. 

“ The same reason that led me to think there had 
been foul play.” 

“ Ah, you mean the papers that you found here,” 
answered the detective, making a shot, and speaking in 
a rather off-hand manner. 

But Marion was not to be caught. 

“ I have already told Mr. Martin that I shall be ready 
to explain my reasons if necessary,” she answered 
quietly. 

“ You will be very ill-advised .to keep anything back 
from us,” said the man. 

" I shall not do so,” she replied. “ I am more eager 
than you can be, that the whole truth shall be known. 
Indeed, I am determined,” she said, very firmly. 

“ You have told us you suspect someone. Who is 
that?” 

“ I told you that there was someone whom my father 
suspected might do him an injury,” answered Marion, 
correcting him. “ It is a man named James Linnegan, 
who attempted to murder my father some five years ago, 
and was sentenced to twenty years’ penal servitude. He 
threatened my father at the time of the trial and swore 


74 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

that he would have his life. The man has recently been 
liberated, I understand, but why, I do not know.” 

“ Do you know who Linnegan was, and what was his 
connection with your father?” asked the detective, mak- 
ing some notes in his pocket-book. 

“ Not in the least. Until within the last week or 
two, I had never heard his name. At the time of this 
trial, five years ago, I was still an inmate of Hemel 
Work Schools. About a fortnight before his death, my 
father mentioned the name of James Linnegan to me, 
telling me he was an old enemy; and he expressed him- 
self in such terms of rage and fear of the man, that I 
thought he was ill. That is the man he suspected.” 

“ What other associates of your father do you know 

of?” 

“ None,” replied Marion. “ I know nothing what- 
ever. I thought always that he was what he told me, 
a working silversmith and jeweler, who found it im- 
possible to get work.” 

“ You do not know whether or not he was reported 
to have money? You see, if the motive — as we think 
— is robbery, it is very material for us to know who 
would be likely to have such knowledge of his wealth 
as would lead to an attempt to rob him.” 

“ I have not the slightest idea,” said Marion. 

" I am sorry for that,” said the detective, as he rose 
to go,” it is much more difficult to work under the cir- 
cumstances. By-the-way,” he said, turning as he reached 
the door, “ do you think your friend — Mr. Gething, I 
think you said the name was — do you think he knows 


75 


A Surprise at the Bank 

anything more of your father’s movements? He seemed 
to have some knowledge of the whereabouts of things at 
Clergy-street, last night ? ” 

“ No, 1 don’t think he can possibly have any knowl- 
edge,” answered Marion,^ readily. “What he said last 
night, was only the result of a guess.” 

“ I see : I fancied very likely it was something of that 
sort, but I thought I had better ask. I suppose you have 
had notice of the inquest. It is to be opened at two this 
afternoon.” 

“ I had not had notice, but I shall be there, of course,” 
answered Marion ; and with that Mr. Mostyn left. 

As soon as he had gone, Marion prepared some break- 
fast and compelled herself to make a good meal, though 
she had no appetite or desire for food whatever. 

Then she sat for a time thinking of all that she had 
still to do. She took out the paper which her father 
had left with her, and read it again, carefully. 

Clearly, her first step should be, she thought, to go 
at once to the bank. 

She recalled the occasion of her former visit, when 
her father had declared that he could get her some work 
from the manager of the bank, Mr. Fawcett. She had 
been struck at the time by the terms on which the two 
men appeared to be with one another. The conversation, 
indeed had been about little else than typewriting ; except 
toward the close when the manager had asked her to sign 
her name in a large book which a clerk had brought in ; 
but she had had no suspicion of what it all meant. Noth- 
ing more had been heard of the professed typewriting, 


7 6 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


and Marion had concluded that the proposals had fallen 
through. She had brought away a very pleasant im- 
pression of the manager’s courtesy, however. 

She found him now even more genial and pleasant than 
before. 

“ Have you come about the typewriting, Miss Janna- 
way ? ” he asked with a smile, when she was shewn into 
his room, but checked himself when he saw how pale 
Marion looked. “ I hope that nothing is the matter,” 
he said, “ and that you are in no trouble.” 

“ I am in trouble, Mr. Fawcett, very sad and serious 
trouble.” 

“ Pray tell me if I can be of any use to you, and if 
so, rely upon me,” he answered, promptly and very kindly. 

“ I have brought you this letter,” said Marion ; hand- 
ing to him the envelope addressed to him by her father. 

He took it and read it in silence. 

“ Do you know the contents of this? ” he asked, when 
he had finished. 

“ No,” replied Marion. 

“ Mr. Hoadley tells me here what I knew from him 
before, that you are Miss Jannaway; and adds what I 
did not know, that you are related to him and he wishes 
me to explain fully the reason of your former visit to the 
bank, and your signature in our books. Do you not yet 
know what that all meant ? ” 

“ No, Mr. Fawcett, not as yet.” 

“ Then I will tell you. Mr. Hoadley placed one sum 
of £500 on deposit here in your name ; and a further sum 
of £5°° on the current account. We are, of course, pre- 
pared to honor your checks up to that amount.” 


77 


A Surprise at the Bank 

“ Wait one moment, please/’ exclaimed Marion. “ You 
take my breath away with surprise. Do you mean that I 
have a thousand pounds in the bank.” 

“ Yes, that is precisely my meaning,” replied Mr. 
Fawcett. 

“ I had not the faintest idea of this,” said the girl. 
“ If I ask you for a hundred pounds now, this instant, 
would you give it me?” This was the practical shape 
which the matter took with her. 

“ Certainly,” replied the bank manager, “ provided, 
of course, that you draw a check for that amount.” 

“ I am astonished,” said Marion ; then, after a pause, 
she added, “ I had no idea my father had anything like 
such an amount of money in his possession.” 

“ I beg your pardon, did you say your father? ” asked 
Mr. Fawcett, surprised in his turn. “ Is Mr. Hoadley 
your father ? ” 

“ He was my father, Mr. Fawcett. He is dead,” an- 
swered Marion, sadly. 

“ Dead,” exclaimed Mr. Fawcett. “ When ? How ? 
1 have not heard of it ! ” 

“ He has been murdered,” said Marion ; and she then 
told him the circumstances of the discovery of the mur- 
der, of the double life which her father had lived, and 
how she found it out through the packet which had been 
left in her charge. 

“ It is terrible for you — very terrible and distressing,” 
he said, kindly, when Marion had finished her story. He 
sympathised deeply with her, and made his sympathy 
apparent. “ Whatever I can do for you, I will do with 
the greatest readiness. Would you like to see the papers 


yS Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

now which we have here ? ” he asked ; and sent for them 
when she assented. 

“ These are the deeds of the two houses,” he said, 
opening the deed box which a clerk brought to them. 
“ Here is the will ; and there, I see, is a letter addressed 
to you.” 

Marion opened it, and found in it the deposit note for 
£500, with a short letter from Simeon Hoadley, saying 
that it belonged to her. After the old man’s signature a 
postcript was added — 

“ You will now be free from any necessity to use 
your typewriter for a living; but never forget to resort 
to it in any difficulty.” 

“ I am afraid,” said Mr. Fawcett, “ that there is some- 
thing wanting which was to have been added. When Mr. 
Hoadley placed the will in my charge, he told me gen- 
erally what its provisions were, and that everything he 
had was to be yours. He said he would make a list of all 
his possessions, and bring it to me to be placed with the 
will; but he has never done so. I see by the paper you 
showed me that he refers to a list said to be with the will ; 
but I have no such list, and have never had one. The only 
paper with the will is this rather dirty and thumbed piece 
of foolscap, with a number of figures and fractions and 
scratches on it which are meaningless. I should suppose 
it has found its way here by mistake or oversight on 
the part of Mr. Hoadley. I am afraid that the absence 
of the list may prove rather embarrassing.” 

“ Do you know anything of my father’s means, or 
what property he had, Mr. Fawcett?” asked Marion, 
taking the paper he mentioned, and looking at it curiously. 


A Surprise at the Bank 79 . 

“ Little or nothing. He was a close man in regard to 
his affairs. He kept little or no balance of money here, 
and rarely spoke to me on business matters. Indeed, 
until he came to me a little more than a fortnight ago, in 
reference to the arrangement about yourself and brought 
the deeds of the houses and the money for your account, 

I had no idea that he possessed anything like such a sum.” 

" This is a very curious paper,” said Marion, who had 
been scrutinising it closely. " Very curious. Did not 
my father say anything as to its meaning?” 

“ Not a word,” replied Mr. Fawcett ; “ in fact, he never 
mentioned it. It was in the will when he opened it, as 
we were talking together, but he made no reference to it 
whatever.” 

" Yet one would scarcely think that he left it here 
in the will by chance, especially as he must have known 
it was here through opening the will before you. If he 
had not meant to leave it, or if it had been folded up by 
mistake, he would have noticed it then and taken it away.” 

" One would think so,” replied the manager. “ But 
your father was evidently a strange man who did strange 
acts sometimes.” 

" Can I take the papers away with me ? ” asked Marion. 

" Certainly,” replied the manager. “ All I require is 
your receipt for them. You may like to examine them 
at leisure. May I ask whether you have made any ar- 
rangements for concluding the legal formalities? 

“ Legal formalities? I am afraid I do not even know 
what they are. Can you get them done for me ? ” 

"You will want the will proved, and for this you 
will want a lawyer. Do you know of anyone? If not, 


8o 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


I will, if you like, give you a letter to my own solicitors, 
shrewd, prompt men, who will do all that you wish/’ 

While Mr. Fawcett was writing the letter, Marion sat 
and scrutinised again the paper of signs and figures, which 
had been with the will ; but she could make nothing at all 
of it. 

“ I think you will be wise,” said Mr. Fawcett, as he 
handed her the letter of introduction to his solicitors, 
“ to leave the deeds here with us, and to take the will at 
once to Messrs. Price.” 

“And what of this paper?” asked Marion, holding up 
the sheet of foolscap. 

“ I do not think that is of any use,” replied Mr. Faw- 
cett, “ but I should not destroy it.” 

Marion thanked him very cordially for all he had done, 
and left. 

It was nearly one o’clock, and as there was more than 
an hour before the inquest, she resolved to go at once to 
the solicitors. She had a long consultation with them, 
and they promised to make such arrangements as were 
necessary, and advised her to let them represent her at 
the inquest. She saw the desirability of this, and the 
junior partner went with her in a cab to the place where 
the inquest was to be held. 

A consultation with the police followed, and then it 
was arranged that nothing should be done that day beyond 
the formal identification of the murdered man. 

Marion’s evidence was sufficient for this, and when 
the proceedings were over, the lawyer who took a great 
interest in the case and in his client, made arrangements 


A Surprise at the Bank 


81 


for the funeral, and thus relieved Marion of a load of 
trouble and worry. 

As soon as he had done that, he told Marion that 
the police wished to see her particularly, and asked her 
to go with him to the station, as certain matters had to 
be cleared up at once. He said he had better be present, 
as he understood some questions affecting the girl closely 
were to be put, and that he would advise her whether or 
not they should be answered. 

/ 


CHAPTER VIII 


EXAMINED BY THE POLICE 

When they reached the police-station they were shown 
at' once into the Inspector’s room, and found him there, 
Sergeant Mostyn being with him. 

The Inspector was much more formal in his manner 
than he had yet been. 

“ In what capacity are you here, Mr. Price? ” he asked. 

“As Miss Jannaway’s legal adviser, of course. She 
has placed herself unreservedly in my hands,” replied the 
lawyer, promptly. 

“ It is my duty to inform you, Miss Jannaway, or 
Hoadley — whichever name you prefer to take,” said In- 
spector Martin, “ that I am going to ask you certain 
questions. You need not answer them, of course, unless 
you please; but if you do answer them, what you say 
will be taken down, and may be used against you.” 

“ Miss Jannaway ’has nothing whatever to conceal, 
and no cause whatever for not saying everything that 
she knows,” returned Mr. Price. 

“We shall see about that directly,” answered the In- 
spector, shortly. “ She has concealed something up to 
the present.” 

“ I have said throughout/’ replied Marion, calmly, but 
feeling rather nervous at the other’s manner, “ that when- 
82 


Examined by the Police 83 

ever it might be necessary for me to state the only matter 
which I have not stated, I would do so. ,, 

“ When did you say you first missed your father ? ” 

“ The night before last — Tuesday night. He should 
have been home, at Morris-place, by about eight or nine 
o’clock, when I reached home, and he did not come home 
at all.” 

“ When did you see him last alive ? ” 

“ On Tuesday morning. I left him to go to my work 
at about the usual time, between half-past eight and nine 
o’clock.” 

“ Was he then in his usual health? ” 

“ Yes; except that he seemed more depressed and low- 
spirited than usual. He had, I believe, a presentiment 
something would happen to him.” 

“And you reached Morris-place at what time that 
evening? ” 

“A little before nine o’clock.” 

“ Will you please tell me carefully all that you did 
that day, and all the persons you saw and spoke to?” 
asked the Inspector. 

“ Certainly ; to the best of my recollection. I went 
straight to the office where I have been at work for four 
years. Mrs. Gunthrey’s in Southampton Buildings, Hol- 
born. I stayed at my work until one o’clock, when I 
went out for my lunch for about half-an-hour. Then I 
returned, and continued at my work until about a quarter 
or twenty minutes past six. Six o’clock is the time I 
generally leave the office. I then took an omnibus to 
King’s Cross, and walked up the Pentonville-road as far 
as the Angel, at Islington. I arrived there as nearly as 


8 4 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


possible, at seven o’clock; I had an appointment there. 
I waited until eight o’clock, when the gentleman I was to 
meet came, just as I was getting into a tram-car to go 
home ; and we walked together home to Morris-place. I 
reached there about nine o’clock.” 

“ With whom was your appointment?” 

“ With Mr. Ralph Gething, the gentleman to whom I 
am engaged to be married,” answered Marion, with a 
slight blush. 

“ Do you usually go home that way ? ” 

“ Very frequently. Mr. Gething and I often meet to 
walk home together. He is in the City, in the office of 
Messrs. Quilter and Robinson, solicitors, of Moorgate- 
street, and generally leaves in time to admit of our meet- 
ing at the Angel.” 

“ Then you were alone from a quarter-past six until 
eight o’clock on Tuesday evening?” 

“ No, not alone all the time. A young lady who works 
in the office with me came as far as King’s Cross with 
me, and we parted by the Metropolitan Station, at about 
twenty minutes, or a quarter to seven,” replied Marion. 

“ Then, from that time you were quite alone until you 
met Mr. Gething at eight o’clock by the Angel ? ” 

“ Yes,” answered Marion. 

“ Did anyone see you when you reached Morris-place ? ” 

“ I cannot say for certain. I think not ; but I am not 
quite sure whether one of the lodgers in the house was 
not in the passage when I opened the door.” 

“ Now, then, will you tell me how you passed the 
time until the discovery of the crime ? ” 

“ I spent a very anxious night on Tuesday, and did not 


85 


Examined by the Police 

go to bed. My father had never been out before in such 
a way, and I was very apprehensive that something had 
happened. In the morning I went to the office at about 
the usual time. I should not have gone at all, but there 
was a special press of work and I knew I could not be 
spared. I worked until about three or four o’clock and 
then returned home, hoping that my father would be 
there ; or that he would have sent word. But there was 
no news of him, and I was made more anxious than 
ever. I felt that I ought to take some steps to find him, but 
I did not know what to do. I then went to Mr. Gething’s 
house and asked that he should come to me as soon 
as possible; and I wired to his office to the same effect. 
In reply, he telegraphed saying he would be detained 
at his office until nine o’clock, and I then determined to 
communicate with the police.” 

“ But instead of doing that in the first instance, you 
went to the house in Clergy-street. Why did you not 
go there, or send there, before ? ” 

“ Up to the moment of my starting for Clergy-street, 
I had no knowledge that my father ever went there.” 

“ Why then, did you go there ? ” 

Marion hesitated, and looked to Mr. Price. 

“Had I better mention the reason?” she asked. 

“ Yes, decidedly, considering the form which the In- 
spector’s questions have taken. I am much surprised, 
replied the lawyer. 

The girl then told the Inspector everything connected 
with the packet left in her charge by her father, and 
showed him the papers, which he read carefully. 

“ You had this packet in your keeping during the 


86 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


whole of Tuesday night, and Wednesday, and yet did 
not think of it ? ” 

“ Yes. My father gave it to me for the first time one 
morning, about a fortnight ago, with the strictest injunc- 
tions not to open it unless at any time he was missing. 
He used to ask for it every evening, as soon as we met, 
and he gave it to me every morning when I went out/' 

“ Are you quite sure that you knew nothing of the con- 
tents of this paper before Wednesday evening ?” the In- 
spector asked, looking very sternly at her. 

“ Quite certain,” replied Marion. “ Had I known, I 
should have gone at once to Clergy-street.” 

“ How came you to remember the packet at the time 
you did?” 

“ I was putting on my jacket to go to the police, when 
I thought of it suddenly. I carried it in my jacket 
pocket.” 

“ But you had put on your jacket before, in the morn- 
ing, had you not ? ” How came it that you did not think 
of it ? ” he asked, suspiciously. 

“ I cannot tell you. What I have told you is the exact 
truth,” answered Marion. 

“ This paper was the first intimation you had ever 
had that your father was not a poor man, I think ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ And that information he did not wish you to have 
until after his death?” 

“ He told me not to open the packet unless he was 
missing, and 1 did not do so,” replied Marion, firmly. 

“ Now, can you tell me of any person who had so 
strong an interest in your father’s death as yourself ? ” 


Examined by the Police 87 

“ I had no interest in my dear father’s death/’ said 
Marion, with much indignation. “ I worked for him 
cheerfully for years, and would have continued to do 
so with the greatest willingness. Only on the Tues- 
day morning, I had told him that I had good news for 
him; that I thought I could see my way to double my 
income by starting in business on my own account, and 
that there would be no need for him to even try to work 
any more.” 

“ I don’t wish to hurt your feelings by my questions,” 
answered the Inspector. “ Do not misunderstand me. 
Do you know of anyone else who could possibly have had 
the information as to your father’s means, which thi3 
paper gave to you ? ” 

“ No, I do not. I know absolutely nothing of his life 
or business, or occupation, or associates at Clergy-street. 
The whole revelation was a complete surprise to me last 
night, when I opened the packet and read that paper.” 

“ Why did you not mention this paper to me last 
night?” 

“ I did not think it was necessary ; but I said I should 
be prepared to do so, if it became necessary. My reason 
was that I did not wish to have to speak of my father ’3 
relations with me.” 

“His relations with you — what were they?” 

“ I mean,” answered Marion, flushing a little, “ I 
did not wish that people should know how he had con- 
cealed from me the fact of his having money, while 
leaving me to support him. That is all ! ” 

“ Have you found out anything more concerning your 
father’s means?” 


88 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ I have seen Mr. Fawcett, this morning, at the bank, 
and have received from him the will which I have given to 
Mr. Price ; " and then Marion detailed the circumstances 
of her interview with the bank manager, and spoke of 
the missing list of Simeon Hoadley’s possessions. 

After she had finished, the Inspector and the detective 
consulted together in low tones, and the former said to 
her: 

“ Thank you ; that is all I wish to ask you at present.'' 

“ But, if you please, I should like to know whether any 
discoveries have been made at Clergy-street." 

“ I am afraid I cannot answer your question," returned 
the Inspector. 

“ Why not ? ” pressed Marion. 

“ I cannot give you my reasons." 

“ That seems to me very extraordinary indeed. 1 am 
determined that the mystery shall be discovered, am pre- 
pared to make any sacrifice to help the discovery; am 
ready to spend every farthing of money I possess or can 
get in order to help ; it is a task especially committed to me 
by my father, and yet you — the police — will not give 
me the slightest assistance. Very well," she said, very 
resolutely, as she rose from her chair, “ I cannot force 
you, of course; but I shall go to headquarters, and if I 
cannot get assistance there, I will offer a reward and 
commence an investigation on my own account." 

The Inspector bowed, but made no reply. 

“ Do I really understand you, Mr. Inspector," said 
Mr. Price, intervening, “that you positively decline to 
give us any information. I have not interfered during the 
long series of questions you have put to Miss Jannaway, 


89 


Examined by the Police 

but I must tell you now, that I listened in amazement. 
You have cross-examined this lady in a manner that has 
profoundly astonished me, and in a way that entirely 
exceeded your rights. Every question put to her, how- 
ever, has been promptly and fully answered, and yet at 
the end you do her the flagrant injustice of refusing to 
help her in the task which, as the only representative of 
the dead man, she is called upon to fulfil. So far as I am 
concerned, the matter shall certainly not pass without 
some further action.” 

“ You are at liberty to take what course you please, 
Mr. Price, as Miss Jannaway’s legal representative,” re- 
plied the Inspector, calmly ; “ I am acting as I think best 
in the case.” 

“ Well, there are one or two questions which I will put 
to you, and you can, if you please, refuse to answer them. 
If you cannot see your way to answer them, then, of 
course, as Miss Jannaway has said, we must make in- 
quiries on our own account. In the first place, have you 
been able to find out anything as to the persons who may 
have lived in this house, 50 Clergy-street, with Simeon 
Hoadley?” 

“ I will answer that question,” answered the Inspector, 
after a pause. He felt that he had taken up a wrong 
position, and was rather glad of an opportunity of re- 
treating from it. “ There has been a woman caretaker 
living in the house, named Mrs. Bloxam; but she has 
been away for about a week or more. We have found 
that out from the neighbors.” 

“ Do you know anything of the people who visited the 
house at any time — visited Hoadley, I mean? ” 


90 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ I can answer that only in very general terms. Hoadley 
was in the habit of dealing with a number of very bad 
characters — many of them known to the police — and these 
used to visit him from time to time, and sell him property 
of different kinds ? ” 

“ Do you mean stolen property ? ” asked Mr. Price. 

“ I do not say stolen property,” returned the Inspector. 
" None has ever been traced to Hoadley’s possession, or 
found in it. But he was not particular where property 
which he bought came from.” 

“ Ah, I see ! Then as to this man, James Linnegan ; do 
you know anything of him ? ” 

“ He was, as you know, a convict, and was sentenced 
to twenty years’ penal servitude for attempting to mur- 
der Simeon Hoadley, by shooting at him at 50 Clergy- 
street. He was liberated a few weeks ago, with a free 
pardon, for saving the life of a warder, at Dartmoor, 
when the convicts attempted to escape. He has not been 
seen by the police since. He is a man of about middle 
height, but very sinewy and muscular; hair rather dark, 
but now tinged with grey, and cut short; no moustache 
or whiskers on his face; rather sullen, and somewhat 
heavy features ; a heavy chin, which protrudes somewhat ; 
is generally pale in complexion; and his eyes are rather 
small, and greyish-brown in color. You could see his 
photograph at headquarters.” 

“ Have you formed any theory to account for the 
crime ? ” 

“ That I cannot answer,” replied the Inspector. 

“ Do you think it is a case in which a reward should 
be offered?” asked Mr. Price. 


Examined by the Police 91 

“ That is a matter on which I am not prepared at pres- 
ent to give an opinion.” 

This reply ended the interview, and Marion and the 
lawyer left the Police-station. 

Marion shook hands with Mr. Price very cordially, and 
thanked him for all he had done, and promised to call 
at his office on the following day, as he requested. 

“We will then see what is best to be done, Miss Janna- 
way. In the meantime, try to be as easy in mind and to 
think as little of this terrible affair as possible/’ 

“ I cannot help thinking about it,” she answered, sadly. 
“ I shall never cease to do so until we have found the 
clue to it ; and that I am determined to do.” 

“ What fools the police can be sometimes,” said the 
lawyer to himself, as he sat in his cab on the way back to 
his office. “ Fancy their suspecting that girl 1 I wonder 
if they mean to arrest her.” 


CHAPTER IX 


RALPH COUNSELS INACTION 

After leaving Mr. Price, Marion hurried to the office 
in Southampton Buildings in order to explain her absence 
that day, and to arrange for not attending for some time 
to come. She had also to announce her determination not 
to carry any further at present, the negotiations for start- 
ing a business on her own account. 

Then she returned to Morris-place, as Ralph was to call 
there as soon as he could get free from the office. 

On her way back from Holborn, she reflected carefully 
upon all that had passed in the interview with the Police 
Inspector that afternoon, and gradually, one thought stood 
out in her mind with great distinctness. It was that the 
Inspector had asked no questions about Ralph Gething. 

The more she turned this over and looked at it from dif- 
ferent points of view, the more strange did it seem to her. 
She remembered that the detective had asked her about 
him in the morning. Then she began to wonder whether 
this refusal of the police to tell her the result of their dis- 
coveries had any sort of connection with Ralph? 

Why would they not tell her? She never thought for 
a moment that they would suspect her; but she tried to 
find some reason for the course they had taken ; and she 
ran over everything that seemed to have any bearing upon 
the matter, or to point to any suggestion of a reason. 

92 


93 


Ralph Counsels Inaction 

The Inspector had apparently attached a good deal of 
importance to the fact that she had been waiting at the 
Angel, which was, of course, near to Clergy-street, for 
an hour, on the night of the murder. He had asked a 
good many questions about that: but when she had said 
that Ralph was late, and had come to meet her there, he 
had asked nothing about him. Yet the detective, who 
was sure to have spoken to the Inspector on the subject, 
had evidently been struck by the apparent knowledge of 
the premises in Clergy-street which Ralph had displayed 
when they were in the house. 

Had Ralph really known anything about the house, 
and about her father being there? She recalled his 
manner in the house, his seeming confusion, the ex- 
clamation he had let fall; and lastly, the way he had 
hurried up to her on Tuesday nighty coming from the 
direction of Clergy-street. 

He may have known of her father’s connection with 
the place. 

Then a thought flashed upon her which startled her. 

Could the police be so idiotic as to suspect that Ralph 
had had a hand in the crime? If so, was the omission to 
question her about him intentional — intentional lest they 
feared to put her on her guard thinking she would com- 
municate with him? 

Then she recalled the questions put to her as to when 
she had known the contents of the packet, and whether 
anvone else knew them. That meant Ralph, she thought. 

In this way, Marion came gradually, but not very 
clearly, to the view that the theory of the police was 
that, whoever had been concerned in the crime had gained 


94 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


their knowledge of her father’s connection with Clergy- 
street from herself ; that Ralph Gething could be the only 
person likely to do that; and that therefore he was to be 
suspected. 

As to the suspicions being anything more than the 
veriest nonsense, Marion did not for a moment doubt. 
They might just as well have suspected her of the 
crime as Ralph. But she had heard of the way in which 
a wrong theory will often prevent the real culprit being 
followed and caught; and she was therefore irritated as 
well as distressed, that such a weak and foolish notion 
should be seriously entertained for an instant. 

She felt, moreover, that it would be best to clear this 
cobweb away as speedily as possible, and determined 
that Ralph had better make a full explanation of every- 
thing without a moment’s delay, and that she would speak 
to him about it as soon as they met. 

After she had had something to eat, she took out the 
paper which had been left with her father’s will, and 
examined it closely. 

It was a most singular looking composition. It filled 
more than a foolscap sheet of paper, and seemed utterly 
unintelligible. 

The first two lines wfere as follows: — 

t ” i * 9 339 ] 804 6 ” 2 t “ 3l 6 ” t 82 [ 36 ” ‘ 9 1 H 
] 463 t “ ISO t 8906 £80 1} ] 833 8 “ 6 * 7 “ 8 £ £80633! 
926 t ‘ 1 t ” 2 £36 f “ t 46 ” 8’ [ i 9015 

And there were some forty to fifty lines of the same 
figures. 


95 


Ralph Counsels Inaction 

So far as the girl could judge there was no meaning 
to it at all. \ et she was unwilling to think that her father 
would write such a paper without having some reason 
fer doing so. and would leave it in such a place as the 
bank, unless it had some signification. But it seemed 
quite incomprehensible. 

She had been poring over it for nearly an hour when 
Ralph arrived. 

Marion was delighted to see him. and ran to him. and 
kissed him. and clung to him, and showed much more of 
her love for him than she usually displayed. She rallied 
him on his looking so pale and worried, chided him play- 
fully for not having come sooner to her, and made so 
much of him, that the man himself was surprised. 

The lonely feeling which had come over Marion owing 
to her father’s death, and the surprise and grief she had 
endured during the last two days, combined with the very 
unusual and exciting experiences through which she had 
passed, had enhanced in her eyes the value of the calm 
soothing quietude of their love. Ralph was now the only 
being in the world whom she had to love. 

“I am so glad you have come, Ralph,” she said, after 
a time. “ there is so much to tell you. and so much to ex- 
plain. and so much to talk about, that I scarcely know 
where to begin. But tell me first, dear, how is it. you are 
looking so harassed and pale. Aren’t you well ? ” 

” Yes, I’m well enough. Marion in body ; but I’ve been 
a good deal bothered in mind, and the work has been 
worrying : and then, of course. I have been fretting about 
not being able to get to you in all your trouble.” His 
manner was very gentle and affectionate. 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


96 

She slipped her arm through his, as they sat side by 
side at the table, and laid her head on his shoulder. 

“ Ah, Ralph, I have missed you. You can’t think what 
a comfort it is to have you by me. I feel, somehow, when 
I am with you as if I need not worry myself about how 
matters go, but that whatever happens, you will manage 
everything, as it should be managed ; and everything will 
end as it ought to end, and be happy ever afterwards,” and 
she smiled into his face. 

“ Well, child, I’m glad I can make somebody feel com- 
fortable, for 1 can’t always do it for myself. I think some- 
times I am a rare hand at making a general bungle of 
matters,” he answered, almost with a sigh, as he bent 
down and kissed her. 

“ Are you low spirited. Ralph ? ” asked the girl. 

“ Not exactly low spirited, Marion, but yet in not what 
I should call properly good form,” he answered, with a 
rather forced cheerfulness. 

“Iam sorry, dear. Have you any trouble or worry you 
would like to tell me?” she asked, very sympathetically. 

“ No, Marion, no; there is nothing I can tell you,” he 
said, quickly. 

“ Because I am quite ready to take charge of your 
bothers, as I expect you to take charge of mine,” she said, 
cheeringly. “ Though I am glad to feel dependent upon 
others sometimes, as I was saying just now, I am not 
always so. When I am alone and have to face all these 
troubles and anxieties connected with my poor father’s 
death I am a very different person. I wonder how it is 
that when there is a lot to be done one just make a big 
effort and does it, and when it is over just drops back into 


97 


Ralph Counsels Inaction 

the usual routine. But whenever there is a task to be 
done, a difficulty to be beaten, I feel some kind of power 
within me, that seems to lift me right over it, and push 
me through it. And then I come to you, and feel as if 
you could have done, or could do it all much better than I. 
Do you ever feel like that, Ralph ? But there, of course, 
you don’t. Men are not such weak creatures as we 
women,” and she smiled to him and at herself as she said 
this. 

“ Turning philosopher, Marion, are you?” he said, 
more lightly than he had yet spoken. “ But now, tell me 
something of what has happened to-day?” 

She told him the purport of all ; the call of the detective 
in the morning; her visit to the bank and all that had 
happened; the short proceedings at the inquest; the in- 
terview with the lawyer; her long questioning by the 
police; the arrangements she had made in the city to be 
absent from the office ; and her return and puzzled scrutiny 
of the mysterious figures and marks. 

Ralph Gething listened with deep and almost painful 
interest to all the girl had said ; interposing now and then 
to ask a question on some point which was not quite 
clear. When she had finished her recital, he was very 
thoughtful and silent. 

* Were there any other papers at the bank, Marion, 
besides the deeds of the houses, the will and this one?” 
he asked, laying his hand on the sheet of foolscap. 

“ No, Ralph, none. The list of my father’s property is 
missing,” said Marion. 

“ Unless this is it,” answered Ralph Gething, quietly, 
pointing to the paper as he spoke. 


98 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ I am glad to hear you say that,” replied Marion. “ I 
have wondered also, whether this could be the list. But 
I have not said anything to anyone about my idea. I 
wished to try and discover it for myself. It is a grief to 
me that my poor father mistrusted me so much as to hide 
from me completely all his life and doings at Clergy-street. 
I wish we could find out something more of that part of 
his life.” 

“ Yes ; it was all very mysterious,” answered Ralph, 
slightly ill at ease. “ From all I could gather it must 
have been a curious life.” 

“How much do you know about it all, Ralph?” said 
Marion, very quickly. “ Did you know anything of his 
being at Clergy-street, before it came out like this ? ” 

“ Well, in a way, I must say, yes, Marion,” answered 
Ralph, hesitating and not meeting her glance. “ I ought 
to have told you, but I, somehow, wasn’t sure about every- 
thing, and — and waited. You know he didn’t like me, and 
I couldn’t understand why ; but I suppose there was a 
reason, in fact, I think there was ; but I didn’t want to 
appear to be setting you against him, and so I — I didn’t 
speak.” His confused, hesitating manner made the girl 
more uncomfortable than his words. 

“ I wish you would tell me everything you know,” she 
said, calmly, in a rather low tone. “ It might help us 
both now.” 

He glanced hurriedly at her before he answered. 

“ Did he never tell you that I was the means of saving 
him from some unpleasantness at the hand of a drunken 
man, one evening, close to Clergy-street. He was as 
angry with me as he had been with the man who was 


Ralph Counsels Inaction 


99 


going to assault him. I think it was because the man in 
a string of violent language dropped something about 
Clergy-street, and your father’s occupation and so on. I 
didn’t pay much heed to what was said, but it gave me an 
idea there was some kind of secret in his life that you 
did not know.” 

“ Didn’t you find out anything more?” asked Marion. 

“ No, no,” he replied, slowly. “ I made an inquiry or 
two, but nothing much. I did find out that he went to the 
house in Clergy-street.” 

“ When was all this, Ralph ? I am sorry you did not 
tell me.” 

“ Quite recently, dear, only a few days ago. I should 
have told you, soon,” he answered. He was cooler and 
more collected now. 

“ Had you come from Clergy-street when you met me 
on Tuesday?” asked Marion, her voice trembling very 
slightly as she put the important question. It made the 
man start. 

“ No, Marion, no,” he answered, quickly — so quickly, 
as to make it evident that the question had discomposed 
him. 

“ Would you mind telling me where you came from on 
Tuesday ? ” 

“Why do you ask me such questions?” he replied, 
irritably and almost angrily. “ I don’t understand your 
meaning at all. One would think you suspected me of — 
of keeping back all sorts of things from you. I have noth- 
ing to keep back.” 

“ Ralph, dear, don’t say such things. You pain and 
hurt me. I wouldn’t think such a thing of you for the 


IOO 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


whole wide world. I’ll tell you quite plainly and simply 
why I ask you. I trust you, my dear, as I trust myself,” 
said Marion, kissing him. “ Listen dear,” she continued, 
as she took his hand and pressed it fondly in hers. 
“ These police people are by no means the wisest of men, 
and what they want is that all of us, who knew my father, 
should be able to explain clearly and readily all that we 
did from the time he left here until the time he was found 
by us, dead. Particularly is this the case with those who 
knew of his being at Clergy-street. I have had to do this, 
and they will ask you, I expect. It is very ridiculous, 
especially when the real criminal is as good as known; 
this man, James Linnegan. Now, do you see what I 
mean ? ” 

“ Yes, Marion, I — I think I follow you now ; ” he spoke 
without looking at her and without lifting his head, which 
was bent down on his arm. 

“ Well, then, dear, what this all amounts to is that these 
stupid men want to know how it is that you seemed to 
know something of the inside of the house at Clergy- 
street; that you were late in coming to me on Tuesday 
night, and came from the direction of Clergy-street; and 
were in the neighborhood of the street last night, when 
the detective and I met you.” The girl spoke with much 
reluctance, but she felt that she was doing what she ought 
to do in Ralph’s interests by putting the matter in such a 
way to him. Her tone was very tender, and her manner 
quite caressing in its gentle solicitude. 

Ralph Gething did not answer for a long while, and 
the silence was very hard for Marion to bear. 

“ It is, as you say, Marion, most preposterous that 


IOI 


Ralph Counsels Inaction 

anyone should dream of putting such questions/’ he said, 
in a manner that seemed quite uneasy, “ and I should not 
think of answering them. Of course, I could do so if it 
were necessary; but it is not necessary, and I shall cer- 
tainly decline to let anyone question me.” He looked up 
now and he was almost defiant in his manner ; but his face 
was pale, and his hand trembled a little. 

“ Very well, dear,” answered the girl, trustfully. “ I 
shall be the last to press you, you may be sure. The chief 
reason why I should have liked you to explain this is 
that the police may not waste their time in finding an- 
swers to such stupid questions.” 

“ They will not do that ; they would never do anything 
so foolish.” He attempted to feel confident, but he was 
very unsuccessful. 

“ I hope not,” she answered, “ but thus far I have not 
found them acting very wisely. The only result will be, 
as Mr. Price and I agreed, that we must make an in- 
vestigation on our own account. But now,” she said, 
without heeding the nervous start which the man gave at 
her words. “ I want you to look at this paper of curious 
figures and signs, and see if you can make anything of it ; ” 
and she opened it on the table in front of them. 

They both examined it together for some time without 
speaking, and then began to make a few comments, 
agreeing that there must be some meaning to it all. 

While they were thus engaged, a rather heavy foot- 
step came hurriedly up the staircase, someone knocked at 
the door, and opened it when Marion replied, and Ser- 
geant Mostyn entered. 

He stood holding the door handle, and looking at 


102 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


Ralph and Marion as they sat together with the paper 
in front of them, and hesitated a moment before he spoke. 
Then he apologised for disturbing them at so late an hour, 
but explained that he thought Marion would like to know 
the latest results of the investigation. 

“ Then you have decided to keep me informed of mat- 
ters? ” asked Marion. “ I’m glad of that.” 

“ Well, you see, it’s in this way, Miss Jannaway. I 
don’t call this an official visit,” answered the detective, 
“ in fact I didn’t tell Mr. Martin that I was exactly com- 
ing to you ; but 1 thought you would like to know.” 

“Yes, of course. What have you found out? Have 
you found James Linnegan,” she asked, eagerly. 

“ No, we haven’t done that yet ; but we have now 
found without doubt the motive of the crime; and that 
there was some valuable property on the premises. A 
further search has resulted in our finding what was, no 
doubt, a place used for hiding money. One or two coins, 
a sovereign and a half sovereign, were in it when we found 
it, and these were, no doubt, left behind by the thief from 
hurry, or some such cause.” 

“ Is that all,” answered Marion, with a gesture of dis- 
appointment. “ But we knew that that was the motive.” 

The detective made some general answer to this, in- 
tended to emphasise the importance of the discovery, and 
then, after some general conversation about the matter, 
dropped in some, questions, addressed partly to Marion 
and partly to Ralph, on the subject of Simeon Hoadley’s 
habits and associates. 

The questions were simple enough, and easily answered 
by both, and the detective rose to go. 


Ralph Counsels Inaction 103 

“ Are you not going to search for Linnegan, Mr. 
Mostyn?” asked Marion. 

“Oh, yes, Miss Jannaway; of course we are. But it 
wouldn’t do for us to act too hurriedly and make a mis- 
take. We don’t want ourselves to get away on to a wrong 
track,” and with that he left. 

“ I wish it was as certain as he seems to think, that 
they will not get on to the wrong track,” said Marion. 

“ What did he come here for now ? ” asked Ralph, 
quickly. “ He didn’t come to tell you what you knew 
before, pretending, too, that he was acting against in- 
structions. It has some other meaning. It’s like his cheek 
too, to come bouncing in here at such a time,” he added, 
angrily. “ But tell me, Marion, do you really intend, 
as you said before he came in, to carry on an investiga- 
tion on your own account ? ” 

“ Yes, Ralph ; I am determined to do that. My poor 
father has left me this money of his on that one condition.” 

“ Yes, that may be; but it doesn’t follow that you need 
take any action independently of the police. Surely it 
will be enough to let them do the work.” 

“ I do not think so,” answered Marion, quietly. “ I 
think rather, that we shall do much more than they will ; 
and I believe that Mr. Price is of my opinion.” 

“ Oh, of course, he encourages you, because he knows 
he will get some fat things in costs. But I think differ- 
ently. You won’t do any good. I wish you’d give up the 
idea.” 

“ Don’t ask me to do that, Ralph,” said the girl. 

“ But I do ask you. I don’t like the idea of your run- 
ning any such risks as you will have to run.” 


104 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ 1 shan’t run any risks, dear; I’m not going to do the 
work myself.” 

“ But if you employ a lot of swindling, private detec- 
tives, you’ll only pay your money for them to drink it 
up while they concoct a host of lies. I know them. I do 
really wish you would not take such a course.” 

“ But I must do it.” 

“ There’s no must about it, Marion,” replied Ralph 
Gething, rather crossly. “ It’s only a matter for you to 
decide as you prefer. There’s no necessity.” 

“ I feel that there is a necessity, Ralph. I have thought 
a great deal about it. My father left it to me as a duty 
to have this man Linnegan brought to justice.” 

“ But you can’t tell where this man is to be found, or 
what the finding of him may cost.” t 

“ No, I can’t tell that ; nor do I care. I am determined 
that he shall be found — aye, if I myself have to find him.” 

“ Then, you don’t care to do as I wish in the matter? ” 
returned her lover. “ I am rather hurt at that, Marion.” 

“ Ralph, dear, don’t say such unkind things. Of course, 

I care for all that you wish ; and if you think this over, 
quietly, you will see that I am right. You grieve me, 
sadly, by such words.” 

“ Not so much as you grieve me by persisting in doing 
what I know is not for your good, and can lead to noth- 
ing but harm. If I ask you not to do this, will you give 
way, Marion? ” he said, taking her hand in his. 

“ I am sorry, Ralph, but you must not ask me. I can- 
not — cannot do what you want.” 

“ Very well,” he answered, half-angrily, half-dejectedly, 

“ if you will have your way, you will. I have tried to per- 


Ralph Counsels Inaction 105 

suade you for your good ; and if harm comes of it, don’t 
forget that 1 tried to warn you. I must go now, good- 
night,” and they kissed and parted; Marion feeling very 
sad at her lover’s conduct. 

She was very thoughtful, after he had gone, and sat 
some time pondering over the strangely earnest way in 
which he had urged the request. 

“ Why is he so eager that I shall do nothing to unravel 
the mystery ? ” she asked herself, and she was rather 
frightened at the answer which her thoughts suggested 
out of the recollection of his refusal to tell her where 
he had been on the night of the murder. 


CHAPTER X 


EZRA GIBEON 

Marion's consultation with Mr. Price on the follow- 
ing day was a long and anxious one. She took with her a 
copy of the paper that had been left in the will, which 
she had made with great trouble and care, and left it with 
the lawyer for him to see if he could get it deciphered. 
He said he would try his hand on it himself at first, and 
if he failed, find out some expert and give him a portion 
of it. 

“We had better not give the whole of it into any one’s 
hands,” he said cautiously, “ as it may reveal some in- 
formation which we had better keep to ourselves.” 

“ I had not thought of that,” answered Marion, “ but 
you are right. Thus far, no one has seen it or knows of 
it, but Mr. Fawcett, yourself, Mr. Gething and I.” 

“ What of Inspector Martin ? ” asked the lawyer. 

“ I did not tell him. It seemed to me that the paper 
could have nothing to do with the death of my poor 
father, and I thought we could tell the police about it at 
any time if it seemed necessary,” answered Marion. 

Mr. Price smiled at the prudence which Marion had 
shown. 

“ Well, I can’t blame you for being cautious after the 
extraordinary proceedings at the police station yesterday,” 
he said. “ Have you heard anything more of the police? ” 
106 


Ezra Gibeon 


107 

“ Yes, the detective, Mr. Mostyn, called on me last 
night,” and she told the circumstances of the visit. 

“ Did he see this cipher ? ” asked the lawyer. 

“ I don’t know. It lay on the table; but he could hardly 
have read it, as he sat at some distance. Mr. Gething and 
I were trying at the moment to make something out of it.” 

“ You weren’t successful. Mr. Gething knew nothing 
about it, I suppose?” asked Mr. Price, thoughtfully, 
stroking his short beard as he spoke. 

“ No more than I myself,” replied Marion. 

“ By-the-way, did Mr. Gething, after all, know any- 
thing of your father’s association with Clergy-street?” 

“ Yes, he had a little information — but very little. He 
knew that my father went to the place.” 

” Pity he didn’t tell you,” answered the lawyer. 
“ Might have saved a lot of trouble. Has he been able 
to tell you anything more about the place? You see, 
we ought to get as much information as possible about 
your father’s movements and business, and the people he 
saw in Clergy-street. All we know, so far, is that he did 
business with some very shady people, and had some 
money of the existence of which not even his banker knew 
until within a day or two of his death. There may have 
been much more. It ought not to be difficult to find out 
all this. Can Mr. Gething tell us of no one who knew 
your father in business ? ” 

“ No, I don’t think he can ; but I have thought of some- 
one whose name my father used to mention, although I do 
not know his address; his name is Ezra Gibeon, and my 
father used to speak of him as a man who employed him 
to repair jewelry, etc., in which he said Mr. Ezra dealt.” 


io8 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“If there is a dealer of that name, we shall find him 
out without difficulty. We will search in the directory. 
Here’s the name, sure enough,” he added, after a pause. 
“ ‘ Gibeon, Ezra, 31 Fulham-street, Aldersgate-street, E 
C.’ There you are, Miss Jannaway, that’s your man, I’ve 
no doubt.” 

“ I’ll go to him,” said Marion, rising directly. 

“ You are very prompt, Miss Jannaway; but if you like 
I will go and see him.” 

“ I would rather go myself. Can you give me any 
suggestions ? ” 

“ Only that you should try and get as much information 
as possible from Mr. Ezra about your father’s movements. 
Anything he can tell you. Stay ; yes, you might perhaps 
be able to get from him a description of some articles of 
value in your father’s possession which might be traced if 
it has been taken away by the thieves.” 

No. 31 Fulham-street, Alder sgate, which Marion found 
without difficulty, was a small shop, with an old-fashioned, 
many-paned window that was anything but clean. The 
contents of the window were chiefly old books, old plate 
and old clothing, the rich gold and silver ornaments of 
which were tarnished by age and neglect ; while in a cor- 
ner, heaped together, was a quantity of jewelry — chains, 
rings, and trinkets — good, bad and indifferent in quality. 

Marion stood looking at the miscellaneous collection 
in the window, thinking how she had best commence 
the inquiries she wished to make. Before she had been 
at the spot more than a couple of minutes a very dirty, 
keen-eyed, gray-haired Jew tapped at the window to 
her from inside the shop, and beckoned to her to enter. 


Ezra Gibeon 


109 

Wondering whether the man could possibly know her 
she went in. 

“ I haf moch more of dose here, my tear,” he said to 
the girl, “ peautiful, peautiful. Just look at dese,” and 
he took a box from a shelf behind him, and emptied the 
contents on to the counter. “ Dey are all so cheap as 
nefer vos. Look at dis ring, and dis, and dis. You 
nefer see sech rings in your life pefore, nefer. Dey are 
vort tventy, fifty, hundert times vot I ask. See dis ; here 
is a timont vich is vort fifty pounts if it is vort a penny; 
you haf it for dree pounts. Not timonts ? ” seeing that 
Marion made a sign of dissent. “ Veil, den, look at dis 
emral. Dat vos sole me py a countess, I svear it py my 
peard. It is a peautiful stone, so large, so vine, so deep, so 
pure ; it is a chewel vit' vor a queen. Dat emral is vort — 
put dere, you know de vort of a chewel like dat, you see 
dat you are sharp and defer, and qvick, and know vot you 
are doing. You know dat emral can’t be pought for less 
dan vorty to sixty pount, and ven I say to you, you can 
haf it for fife pount, nay, for four pount, I am gifing it 
you, pecause you are not reech, but bretty, eh? You 
know dat, don’t you ? ” 

“ Are you Mr. Ezra Gibeon ? ” asked Marion. 

" Veil, vot a gel you are! ” said the old Jew, lifting up 
his hands and assuming an expression of astonishment. 
“ I show you dese lofely rings, dis timont unt dis emral — 
my pest I haf in my whole shop; peautiful, ratient, 
schplendid, enof to make any gel laugh for bleasure — unt 
you look at me qvietly unt ask ‘ are you Mr. Ezra 
Gipeon?’ Dat is too moch.” He had been gesticulating a 
great deal as he spoke, and he now looked as if disap- 


i io Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

pointed and grieved. “ 1 nefer met a gel like dat. I ask 
‘Vot you puy/ you answer, ‘Who are you?’ I ton’t 
onterstant dat.” 

“ I am «afraid I have not made the reason of my visit 
plain yet, but I will do so in a minute if you will tell me 
whether you are Mr. Ezra Gibeon ? ” 

“ Vot a gel it is ! ” cried the Jew, jerking his head 
back, and lifting his eyebrows, and throwing up his hands. 
“ Vot a gel to pe sure, to dink noting ov de chewels and 
everyting ov me. I most be fery nice to outshine de 
timonts, de emrals, all de chewels. Ha, ha,” and he 
rubbed his hands, and exclaimed again, “ Vot a gel ; I 
nefer did. Yes, my tear, I am Ezra Gipeon. And now, 
vot to you vant to puy? I vill serve you cheaper dan 
you ever know. I vill, 1 svear I vill, py all de saints 
in de Christian calentar, efen if 1 don’t care a rab for de 
lot. You are a gel I like, a gel vot knows her mint, and 
sticks to her boint. A gel of a tousant; and I’d like to 
know dat some of my chewels vos on you, I vould, I take 
my oat’ I vould. I gif you vat you vish sooner’n you not 
haf it.” He spoke with such voluble energy, and with 
so much waving of arms and hands, and such noddings 
and shaking of the head that Marion could not get in a 
word until he stopped. 

“Did you know Simeon Hoadley, Mr. Ezra?” she 
asked. 

“Eh? Vot? Vot you mean?” said the Jew in reply, 
altering his whole manner instantly, and regarding the 
girl suspiciously out of his keen, scintillating, dark eyes, 
while he began to put back the contents of the box. All 
his elaborate action was put away for the moment, and 


Ezra Gibeon 


in 


he answered in a rather sullen, guttural tone. “ No, neber 
heart ov him ! Who vos he ? Excuse me, I’m pusy — 
haf to see a gent almost treckly. You’re not a puyer, 
Goot tay,” and he began to turn away as if he really had 
something calling for his notice. 

I mean the Simeon Hoadley whose death you must 
have seen in the papers yesterday,” said Marion. 

“ I don’t reat papers,” answered the Jew. “ Haf no 
time for dat — and no time to talk about tings oder’n 
pusiness. If he is tead — likely he is locky — he vont haf 
to do vot I haf to do, to vork hart for noding. Goot 
tay ! ” 

“ Are you sure you didn’t know him, Mr. Ezra,” con- 
tinued Marion. “ I have heard him mention your name.” 

“ Vot a gel it is ! ” he cried again, this time in an angry 
tone. “Vot a gel to keep to a boint. Do you subbose 
I know efery vun vot knows my name. Vy do you come 
to me?” he asked, sharply and suddenly. 

“ I am Simeon Hoadley’s daughter,” replied Marion. 

“Vot?” called out the Jew, in astonishment, “Veil, I 
nefer did, s’elp me ! ” 

“ It is true — I am Simeon Hoadley’s daughter,” re- 
peated Marion, “ and I have come to you because I thought 
you had been a friend to my father, and would be likely to 
help me.” 

The old Jew came back to his place at the counter, 
opposite to Marion, and leaning across, looked full into 
her face for a minute, very suspiciously, without speaking 
a word. 

“ I ton’t know who you mean,” he said, at length, 
shaking his head slowly from side to side, and glancing 


I 12 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


cunningly at her from under his long gray lashes, “ put 
if you like to ask any qvestions, I can’t stop you ; and if 
1 know any ting ov vot you want, ov course, I’ll tell you. 
P’raps den I might come to see who you mean ? ” 

“ I am in great trouble, Mr. Ezra,” said Marion, “ and 
I want to find out something of my father’s business mat- 
ters. I’ll tell you why,” and she told the Jew about the 
double life that her father had lived, and her own reasons 
for wanting the information. 

The simple way in which she told her story produced 
a very favorable impression upon the Jew, and disarmed 
him of much of his suspicion. But he had had many 
transactions with Simeon Headley, and he was most un- 
willing that they should become known. Ezra Gibeon was 
scarcely more particular in his dealings than Simeon 
himself had been, and he had no intention of giving such 
information as would bring him in contact with the police ; 
and his hesitation and suspicion had been caused by his 
fear that Marion might be a spy, acting with the police. 

“ Veil, my tear,” he said, at the close, “ and vot qves- 
tions do you vish to ask me ? ” 

“ In the first place, can you tell me anything about any 
of the people with whom my father used to do business ? ” 
asked Marion. 

“ Vot a gel it is, to pe sure ; I nefer tid know such a gel. 
To dink I know her old fader’s pusiness — old Simeon 
Hoatley’s pusiness, too, of all men. No, my tear, I can’t 
tell you. All I know is dat he vould to pusiness mit any- 
body who had to sell vot your father vos open to puy,” 
and the Jew raised his hands and eyebrows and shoulders 
together to emphasize his ignorance. 


Ezra Gibeon 


1 *3 

“ And what did he chiefly buy, Mr. Ezra ? ” asked 
Marion. 

“ My tear, how can I know dat? I nefer see sech a 
gel in my life — I nefer did. I know he puy lots of chewels 
— lots. He haf pought dem ov me; he deal in dem, you 
onterstant.” « 

“ Yes,” said Marion, quietly, making a guess. “ I be- 
lieve he bought such things. He has shown me some 
that he bought from you.” 

“ Vrom me! — vrom me! ” ejaculated the Jew, in rather 
a shrill tone. “ He scarcely trade mit me at all — a vew 
small dings of leedle vort.” 

“ Could you describe to me anything he ever purchased 
from you ? ” 

“Yes, I dink I could; I should kno.w dem agen — quite 
certain, if 1 see dem, because he puy so leetle. 

“ He once showed me a curious seal — a white ivory 
snake coiled round the gold figure of a boy, the impres- 
sion of the seal being the same design as the seal itself, 
and he told me that it was yours, and that you had given 
it to him to repair. Did you sell him that? — and would 
you know it again ? ” 

Mr. Ezra Gibeon paused some time before answering, 
and seemed to be making an effort to recall the seal to 
his memory; but h.e remembered it quite well, and was 
considering the best answer to return to the question. 

‘Yes, I dink I remember it, and I should know it agen. 
I pought dat seal at an auction room in the Easd End, 
vere it vos send vrom a bawnshop. I remember it. Oh, 
yes, I vould know dat seal agen. You are right — your 
fader pought it,” and he added a number of circumstances 


1 14 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


connected with the history of how the seal came into his 
possession, speaking very fast, and gesticulating freely 
all the while. 

“ Do you remember any other such things ? ” 

“ No; can’t remember any oder,” said the Jew, shaking 
his ‘head, reflectively, and pulling his scanty beard. 

“Did you sell him a small fish-shaped pencil case?” 
and Marion described the ornament which her father had 
more than once shown her. 

“ No, no, I nefer see dat,” answered the Jew, emphati- 
cally. 

“ There is one other question I should like to ask you, 
Mr. Ezra,” said Marion. “ Was my father a rich man? ” 

“ Reech, my tear — reech ? ” cried the Jew, with a soft, 
sly, indescribable laugh, rolling his eyes in their sockets, 
and puffing up his cheeks and shaking his body as the 
laugh progressed. “ Reech? Vot a gel it is; I nefer tid. 
Vy do you ask me dat? ” 

“ Because in a paper to me he says so ; and yet there is 
nothing more to be found than a thousand pounds at the 
bank, placed there in my name, and the deeds of two 
houses,” answered Marion, straightforwardly. “ If he 
had anything more there is no trace of it.” 

The Jew listened intently while she spoke, still letting 
his body shake as if the laugh were dying away out of his 
limbs. When she stopped he laughed again. 

“ Is dat all ? A tousant pount. Is dat not enofe ? I 
vish I had a tousant pount,” and he lifted his eyes and 
hands as if in ecstatic contemplation of such bliss. 

“ I am not grumbling, Mr. Ezra. To me a thousand 
pounds is a great sum indeed. But I thought there was 


Ezra Gibeon 


11 5 

more, and was not willing that those who had killed him 
should secure the money after all.” 

The old Jew looked at her cunningly. 

“ Vot a gel it is. But a good gel, a good gel? See I 
tell you someding. Haf you vount no chewels, my tear ? ” 
“ No, Mr. Ezra, not one.” 

“ Not one. Got pless my heart. Your fader haf some 
of de most peautiful chewels in de vorlt — most peautiful. 
Dey are vort tousants and tousants. Timonts unt emralts. 
He haf lots,” and the Jew stretched out his arms to their 
widest extent to emphasise his meaning. “ Lots, I say. 
Reech ? ” Then with the same sly smile, “ he was fery, 
fery reech. He lofe chewels and haf lots of dem. Vhere 
are dey? He haf lot ov money. Vhere is it? You most 
vind it, my tear. Vot a gel it is ; a fine gel, a goot gel. 
Unt, now, go avay. I have moch to do.” He held out his 
hand, and Marion shook it. “ A goot gel,” he said, as 
he held her hand, “ if you vant me agen come to me. I 
like you ; but vind de money, and de chewels ; don’t forget 
de chewels, my tear, don’t forget de chewels.” 


CHAPTER XI 


MRS. BLOXAM 

The next two or three days passed without any fresK 
steps being taken by the police, or further discoveries of 
importance being made. The funeral took place on the 
day after Marion had seen Ezra Gibeon, and the girl felt 
very down-hearted and lonely. To add to her sorrow, 
Ralph Gething appeared much changed in his manner ; he 
was fretful, impatient, often irritable, and generally 
gloomy. 

Marion’s anxiety, that some further progress with the 
search for her father’s murderers should be made, in- 
creased, and the apparent inability to discover anything 
galled and worried her greatly. 

The result of the interview with the old Jew was dis- 
appointing, as Mr. Price pointed out when Marion told 
him what had passed. All that it did was to strengthen 
their opinion that there was money somewhere, if they 
could only find it ; and to afford what might be a clue — 
in the description of the seal — if it could be followed up. 
A very minute description of the seal was therefore given 
to the police. 

Mr. Price confessed himself completely baffled bv the 
cipher — if cipher it was — and he had a portion of it copied 
116 


Mrs. Bloxam 


li? 


out and sent to an expert; and he told Marion that the 
only thing he could do was to await the latter’s opinion. 

On the Wednesday morning, the detective, Mostyn, 
called on Marion with some important news. 

The house in Clergy-street, which had been carefully 
closed and locked by the police, before the keys were de- 
livered to Marion, had been broken into during the pre- 
ceding night. 

“ I have been round there myself, Miss Jannaway,” said 
the detective, “ and there’s no mistake about it. Someone 
has been in, and the place has been turned topsey-turvey 
in a search that has been made ; the floor has been taken 
up in a number of places, the skirting-boards pulled away, 
and a grate has been taken out, and in many places the 
plaster has been broken. I never saw such a case.” 

“ Can you conjecture who has done it, and why?” 
asked Marion. 

“ It looks as if someone had been there who knew 
there was property worth finding, and they were deter- 
mined to find it,” replied the detective. 

“ Has the furniture, such as it is, been broken at all? ” 

“ Some of it,” answered the man ; “ but not very much, 
though it has all been overhauled again; and a rigorous 
attempt has been made to break open the safe, which, you 
know, we locked. You have the keys, I think? ” 

“ Yes,” said Marion. “ It’s an extraordinary thing. 
What do you think had better be done? I, myself, have 
thought of having all the goods brought here,” she added. 

Mr. Mostyn made no direct reply to this. 

“ I can hardly advise you on such a matter, Miss Jan- 
naway,” he said, “ but so far as we are concerned I do not 


1 1 8 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

see there would be any objection. And you might like to 
have them under your own control/’ he said, lightly. 

“ Yes,” answered the girl, innocently, “ I should.” 

Marion acted with her usual promptness, and arranged 
that same afternoon for the removal of the furniture and 
papers from Clergy-street. She had them placed in the 
little room, which had been her father’s bedroom, the 
door of which was on the half-landing at the top of the 
first flight of stairs. 

She saw Mr. Price on the following day, and told him 
what she had done. 

Ralph Gething, when he heard of it, was somewhat 
surprised, and at first was pleased. But when he asked 
whether the act was to be taken as a sign that Marion had 
given up her expressed intention of tracing the murderers, 
and Marion told him she was as determined as ever to 
carry out her intention, he was angry. He urged her not 
to do anything of the kind, and the discussion grew 
warmer than it had yet been, but Marion would not give 
way. 

On the following day, in the afternoon, there was an- 
other surprise. When Marion returned home after a 
walk, she found a woman outside the house in Morris- 
place, who came up and spoke to her. 

“ Are you Miss Jannaway,” she asked, as Marion stood 
on the doorstep. 

“ Yes,” answered Marion, looking curiously at her, and 
feeling somewhat prejudiced by the woman’s appearance. 

“ My name is Bloxam — Mrs. Bloxam,” replied the 
latter, “ and I wish to speak to you.” 


Mrs. Bloxam 


1 19 

They went into the house together, and Marion led the 
way upstairs to her room. 

“ I was Simeon Hoadley’s housekeeper," said the 
woman, “ and have been away in the country since a week 
last Monday, down with a sister of mine who has been 
very ill. Simeon told me I could go. I only got back 
this morning, and when I got to Clergy-street and heard 
he was dead, you might have knocked me over with a 
feather. Then I made some inquiries of the neighbors. 
I know most of 'em pretty well, for I’ve lived a power of 
years in the same house, nigh on ten or twelve, I think 
it is ; and I heard of you. So I thought I’d better come 
and see you at once." 

“ I have heard of you, Mrs. Bloxam, as having been a 
long time with my father," replied Marion. 

“ And I have, too; I have served him faithful for many 
a year. But I knew what I was doing all the time, though ; 
I don’t say as I didn’t do that. Didn’t he tell you how he 
promised to pay me? ’’ said Mrs. Bloxam, looking hard at 
Marion. 

“ No,” answered the girl. 

" Well, then, I must tell you myself,” said the woman, 
bluntly. “ I never heard tell of you ; but then, old Simeon 
was a deep ’un, sure enough, in most things, and why 
not in this? But someone else was deep, too, don’t you 
see? Maybe it’ll be a surprise to you to know that he 
left his property to me — leastways, his house at 50 Clergy- 
street, and such things as were in it.” As she spoke she 
drew a paper from her pocket, and held it on her lap. 

" If that is so,” answered Marion, readily, “ I shall 


120 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


gladly comply with the bequest. But I am bound to tell 
you that so far, I have heard nothing of this, and found 
no mention of it among any of his papers. There is a will, 
you know, which is in the hands of my lawyers.” 

“ I don’t know anything about that, and 1 I don’t care, 
either,” answered Mrs. Bloxam, roughly. “ What I do 
know is that I’ve got the will here which leaves me the 
house in Clergy-street. You can read it if you like,” and 
she laid it on the table, and held it open, so that it could 
be read. “ I ain’t going to be done, you know.” 

“ I have no wish to injure you in the slightest. Apart 
from any writing or wills altogether, the long time you 
tended my father would make me anxious to do anything 
for you that I could.” 

“ Well, it don’t look much like it,” returned Mrs. Blox- 
am, “ seeing that you’ve cleared out the things already 
from Clergy-street. It’s hard on me to be turned out of 
the place after all these years. It don’t look like a very 
friendly feeling in you, I must say.” 

“ You forget that I could not possibly know anything 
of all this you have said,” replied Marion. 

“ Well, will you let me have the house, then,” asked 
Mrs. Bloxham, “ without forcing me to have the law on 
you?” 

“ I am inclined to do what you ask,” replied Marion ; 
“ but I have placed the whole matter in the hands of a 
lawyer, and I feel that I must first consult him. You 
would like to have the house to live in, I presume, you 
mean, without paying the rent?” 

“ No, I don’t,” answered Mrs. Bloxam, relapsing into 
her bluntest manner. “ I mean to have it for my own, 


Mrs. Bloxam 


I 2 I 


just as this will gives it to me, with everything in it at the 
time of Simeon Hoadley’s death ; that’s what he promised 
me. There’s this writing to prove it,” and she held out the 
will as she spoke. 

“ No, I cannot do that,” answered Marion. “ My father 
expressly told me not to sell or part with the houses, at 
least until certain conditions had been fulfilled, and I 
cannot do so unless of course the will you have there is a 
rightful one. We will have that made clear.” 

“Well, will you let me live there, then?” 

“ Yes, I will probably do that,” said Marion. 

“ But they tell me you’ve cleared out my things as well 
as the old man’s — I suppose you’ll put ’em back? ” 

“ If I let you have the house, yes. I have had the fur- 
niture brought here for the sake of safety, that is all. I 
do not want it, however, and if you are in the Clergy- 
street house to take care of it, I am quite willing to leave 
it there.” 

This reply seemed to satisfy Mrs. Bloxam that Marion’s 
intentions toward her were friendly, and she grew less 
hostile in her manner and rough in her speaking. 

“ I’ve no call to quarrel with you,” she said, “ and I’d 
much rather come to some terms. When will you let me 
know about the house? I’ve got nowheres to sleep now.” 

“ As soon as I can. Where can I find you if I want 
you?” 

“ Eh ? Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t any regular ad- 
dress, but if you’ll name a day I’ll come to you,” said Mrs. 
Bloxam, rising to go. 

“ Very well ; if you will come on Saturday I will let 
you know. Before you go now, I should like to ask you 


122 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

one or two questions about my father. Have you been 
to the police ? ” 

“ No/' returned the woman, quickly. “ What do I 
want to go to the police for ? ” 

“ They wish to see you in order to get particulars of 
the people who used to visit my father. Can you describe 
any of these to me ? ” 

“ What’s the good of describing any of ’em,” answered 
Mrs. Bloxam. “ I might give a whole dictionary full, 
and where would you be the wiser.” 

“ Do you suppose he had any money or valuables in 
his possession while he was living there, Mrs. Bloxam? ” 

“ Really, I don’t know. All I know is that he never 
seemed to have any. He gave me house room, and I fed 
him in return. He used to talk sometimes about having 
a few pounds — ’cause he promised ’em to me — though I 
never thought he was doing more than bragging a bit. 
But, there, you never knew what his game was,” and 
Mrs. Bloxam shook her head disconsolately, “ he was 
that deep and artful.” 

“ I suppose you could recognize the people who used 
to come to the house, Mrs. Bloxam ? ” asked Marion, 
after a pause. 

“ Of course I could — at least, most of ’em, I think ; 
some I never used to see, because old Simeon would open 
the door himself and let ’em in, and then afterwards let 
’em out again. But I used to catch sight of most of ’em, 
somehow or other, for I don’t mind saying I was curious 
at times.” 

“ What was the nature of his business, Mrs. Bloxam? ” 

“ The nature of his business ! What, don’t you know ? '* 


Mrs. Bloxam 


123 


" No,” replied Marion. 

“ Well, he used to buy things and sell ’em again,” 
answered the woman, drily. “ Only he didn’t used to 
care where they came from. He asked no questions, he 
didn’t, and used to buy as cheap as he could, and sell as 
dear. It wasn’t many people as could catch him napping.” 

“ But he had no shop, Mrs. Bloxam ; how did he sell 
what he bought ? ” 

“ Don’t you ask too many questions, else you mayn’t 
care for the answers you’ll get,” said the woman, nod- 
ding her head, significantly. 

“ But I wish to know the truth.” 

“ Well, then, you won’t know it from me ; I’ve no call 
to tell you, and I’m not a-going to; and you wouldn’t 
thank me if I did — leastways, I ain’t going to say nothing 
until you’ve settled that little matter about my having 
the house.” 

The girl was silent for a minute, and then spoke 
abruptly and pointedly, and watched the woman closely to 
note the effect of her next question. 

“ Who is James Linnegan? ” 

Mrs. Bloxam started at the questions and changed 
color slightly. 

“ James who? ” she asked, as if to gain time. 

“ James Linnegan,” repeated Marion. 

" Oh, now I know who you mean. You mean the 
man as tried to shoot old Simeon five or six years ago, 
and got sent to penal servitude for twenty years — and 
serve him right, the murderous villain. If it hadn’t a 
been for me, he’d a killed your old father.” 

“You know he has been liberated recently?” 


124 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ What, him liberated? James Linnegan? Well, then, 
you don’t need to look far for the man who’s done this 
murder,” answered the woman. “ I thought I saw him 
hanging about Clergy-street one night, just before I went 
away to my poor sister. Yet I thought it couldn’t be him, 
’cause he was in jail. I’ll bet it was him, after all ; he’s 
a right down dangerous villain,” she said, excitedly. “ He 
swore he'd have your father’s life, and now he’s done it 
when my back was turned.” 

“ You must tell the police, Mrs. Bloxam, what you 
know of him, and especially that you have seen him in 
the neighborhood.” 

“ I’ll tell them willingly enough. Fancy, James Linne- 
gan at liberty ! Why, I know he went for twenty years ; 
I was in court, and heard the sentence.” 

“ He has been liberated and pardoned,” said Marion ; 
and she told the other such of the circumstances as she 
knew, while she got ready hastily to go out. 

“ We will go at once to the police,” she said, “ in order 
that they make inquiries ; and then I will go to the lawyers 
about the house in Clergy-street. It is a great pity that 
you were not in London yesterday,” said Marion, as they 
went out together, “ so that you could have given your 
evidence at the inquest. It only closed yesterday with a 
verdict of murder against some person unknown. Had 
your evidence been given, it might have served to give a 
definite direction to the opinion of the jury.” 

They went together to the police station, and Mrs. 
Bloxam told her tale over again, and was questioned 
closely as to her recognition of the man Linnegan; but 


Mrs. Bloxam 


125 

she was very positive ; and her statement produced a con- 
siderable effect upon the minds of the police. 

O11 leaving the station, Marion went to see Mr. Price 
in reference to the alleged will which Mrs. Bloxam had 
produced, and in regard to letting her have the house. 
The lawyer was doubtful of the wisdom of doing this, but 
said he would consider the matter. 

It was late in the afternoon before Marion started to 
walk home. She had not gone very far before the idea 
occurred to her that someone was following her. When- 
ever she turned to look back, a young, sharp-looking, 
shabbily-dressed lad seemed to be watching her move- 
ments. He was clearly inexperienced at the work. When 
Marion stopped the lad stopped; when she moved on, 
he followed. She tested her belief by walking at a sharp 
pace through several of the short streets which lie at the 
top of Clerkenwell, near to the Angel, and the lad fol- 
lowed her closely. 

Once when she thought she had shaken him off, she 
entered a shop, and tried to keep out of sight of the 
passers-by ; but, after a minute or two, the lad’s head was 
thrust cautiously, but quickly rpund the door, and the eyes 
seemed to brighten as they fell on Marion, who was stand- 
ing as much out of sight as possible. 

He was waiting for her when she left the place, and he 
followed her into a tramcar, sitting close to the door. She 
got out again quickly, as if she had forgotten something, 
and hailed a cab, telling the man to drive quickly in a cer- 
tain direction. When he had driven for a short time she 
looked out of the window, and as she could see nothing 


126 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


of the lad, she told the man to drive back to Highbury 
Station. There she got out and paid the man and walked 
away, congratulating herself on having got rid of the 
young spy. 

But, as she left the place, the lad came out from behind 
the cab, where he had been riding, and followed her again 
though at a greater distance. 

It was therefore with some anger, and a little fear, that 
when Marion ran up the steps of the house in Morris- 
place, she saw the lad saunter quietly past the end of the 
street and look swiftly and keenly in her direction. 


CHAPTER XII 


BURGLARY AT MORRIS-PLACE 

That she had really been followed in the street Marion 
had no doubt, and the incident made her uncomfortable. 
In the next few days whenever she went out, she looked 
round for the lad, but did not see him again. Once or 
twice she thought she was being followed ; but the girl 
could not possibly detect anyone in the act. 

Her uneasiness continued, however, and tended to in- 
crease; and the feeling of disquiet rendered her nervous 
and rather afraid. She went again to see Mr. Price in 
regard to Mrs. Bloxam’s request, and he advised her not 
to comply with it. He said that he did not believe in the 
story of the will, and that if it were the case that she had 
what she believed to be a will, it was most unlikely that 
it could be of a date later than that which Simeon Hoadley 
had lodged with the bank manager. Moreover, he urged 
her not to part with possession of the house until at least 
they had been able to determine whether there was, or was 
not, any meaning in the cipher. In the letter left with 
Marion, she had been expressly warned by her father 
against doing this, and Mr. Price thought that desire 
should be complied with. 

Mrs. Bloxam took the refusal quietly enough, but de- 


127 


128 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

dared that though she was really reduced to the greatest 
straits, she did not desire more than her legal rights, 
whatever these might be ; and gave Marion to understand 
that she would take some kind of steps to secure them. 

One evening, soon after Marion had announced her 
decision to Mrs. Bloxam, she was alone in her room when 
she was called down to the front door by a somewhat 
loud knocking. 

“ You have some rooms to let, miss, I believe, haven’t 
you ? ” The question was asked by a middle-aged woman, 
who, in company with a man, was standing at the door. 

Marion looked at them both rather keenly, and came to 
the conclusion that she did not like them. 

“ Who sent you here? ” she asked. 

“ Mr. Davies, the milkman, in Holloway-road,” an- 
swered the woman readily. “ He told us your parlors 
and kitchens were empty, and that’s just what we want.” 
While the woman had been speaking the man had said 
nothing, but had kept staring into the house and at the 
front door in so strange a way that Marion could not fail 
to notice it. 

“ The rooms were empty, but I’ve let them,” answered 
Marion, rather abruptly. She liked the two less the more 
she saw of them. 

“ How can that be ? ” asked the woman, putting her 
foot inside the door to prevent Marion from shutting 
it. “ I can see from here that they are empty.” 

“ I tell you I have let the rooms, and the tenants are 
coming in to-morrow,” said Miarion. She had not let 
the rooms, but was determined not to take these people 
as tenants. The woman continued to speak, keeping her 


Burglary at Morris-Placc 129 

foot inside the door to prevent its being shut, until the 
man pulled her shawl to get her away. He did this with- 
out saying a word ; but the woman obeyed him instantly, 
muttered a kind of apology for having disturbed Marion, 
and left. 

The girl looked after them, and watched them as they 
walked away together to the end of the street. 

“ I should know those two again, anywhere, I think. I 
believe, I could recognize the man by his walk from be- 
hind. I wonder who they are and what they want. I 
wouldn’t have them in the house if they’d pay three times 
the usual rent.” 

By this time she had accustomed herself to pay atten- 
tion to very small matters, and it occurred to her as pecu- 
liar, that the man had not uttered a word; then her 
memory of the man’s face made her think that the pecu- 
liar look it wore, might be the result of some disguise; 
and it occurred to her that his beard and moustache had 
been false. 

This thought increased her discomfort and nervousness, 
and before she went to bed that night, she made a most 
careful inspection of the fastenings in the lower part of 
the house. A man and his wife had been living in the 
two rooms on the ground floor, but they had left about 
a week before; and the rooms and kitchens beneath them 
were empty. The only other people in the house beside 
herself were a man and his wife, who had rooms on the 
floor above Marion's. These people she knew well, as 
they had lived in the house some considerable time. 

Marion was not afraid — indeed she would not have 
feared to sleep in the house alone; but her nerves had 


130 xrxiacr noadley’s Secret 

been a good deal tried by the occurrences of the past few 
days. 

After she had seen that all the doors and windows of 
the house were properly fastened, she went back to her 
room and sat down to a book with which she was trying 
to wean her thoughts from other matters. She read for 
a long time, and then, when she came to a part of the 
book which was less engrossing, her attention wandered 
away to her own affairs, and she let the book rest on her 
lap. 

Things had not gone well with her during the last few 
days, and she was growing more and more discontented. 
There was no sign of any discovery of the meaning of 
the extraordinary paper which her father had left in his 
will; and it began to be probable that the puzzle would 
never be solved. 

Moreover, the police were making no progress at all in 
the direction of discovering the murderer of her father. 
Mrs. Bloxam had told the police about James Linnegan, 
but they either could not, or did not try to find him ; and 
precious time was slipping away. The thought of this 
distressed Marion very much, and she was growing very 
anxious that some more definite and energetic action 
should be taken. 

Lastly, Ralph Gething’s conduct had pained and grieved 
her ever since she had resisted the wish he had expressed 
that no steps should be taken to trace Simeon Hoadley’s 
murderer. Ralph did not come to see her so frequently, 
and when they were together he had been irritable, low- 
spirited, and sharp-tempered. Several times, moreover, 
his manner had made the girl feel and fear that he had 



some secret ..om her which depressed him ; and this had 
made her very uncomfortable. 


For some days the resolution had been forming in her 
mind that she herself would take up the task of trying to 
find the man who had killed her father; and as she sat 
thinking on this night, the plan began to gather strength 
and to take a much clearer shape in her thoughts. 

She blamed herself for having allowed so many days 
to pass without doing something, and resolved that, on 
the following day she would commence an active and 
systematic search. 

Soon after she had made this firm resolution, she went 
to bed, and was surprised to find that it was already one 
o’clock. The time had passed very quickly while she had 
been reading and thinking. She was restless, however, 
notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, and her brain 
had been so active that she could not get to sleep. 

She grew a little drowsy at last, after resolutely sup- 
pressing every thought and idea, and was nearly asleep, 
when she heard a sound that made her wide awake in a 
moment. 

What was it? Where was it? Who was it? 

It had seemed to be a sound of something that had 
fallen ; it was like a sound of iron falling on stone. 

She sat up in bed and listened ; but could hear nothing 
whatever. She knew that she had really heard something 
and that it was no mere dream. And she determined at 
once to try and discover the cause. 

It could not have been in the rooms above hers, as no 
noise from there could have had so sharp and distinct a 
ring. 


1 3 2 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


It must have been in her sitting-room or downstairs. 
In either case, it meant probably that some one was in 
the house. Then she reflected that such a sound could 
not have traveled up from the inside of the house; the 
echoes would have muffled the metallic clang. 

It must have been outside. She recalled that under her 
window at the bottom of the house the yard was paved 
with flag stones ; and concluded that the sound had come 
up from them, and that she had heard it through her 
window. 

While these reflections were passing through her mind, 
making her heart beat fast, she hastily slipped on her 
black dress, and, remembering that -she must be able to 
move absolutely without noise, she took a pair of heavy, 
thick woollen stockings, and drew them on in place of 
shoes. Then she crept from the room. 

She went first into her sitting-room, after waiting and 
listening intently at the door. It was empty, just as she 
had left it. She had no light ; and moving silently across 
the room, she moved the blind aside and looked out. 

It was a dark, misty, wet night; but she fancied that 
she could see the form of a man standing against the 
railings on the opposite side of the road, close by a lamp- 
post. Next she turned and went out on to the landing, 
and listened. 

She could hear nothing; and began to doubt whether 
she had been altogether mistaken. She had intended to 
go up to the people above and wake them; but resolved 
not to do this, when it appeared possible that she had 
made a mistake. Instead of going upstairs, she went 


at Morris-Place 133 

down tiic ^ 1 noiselessly as a ghost, stopping 

every few steps to i 

As she passed the door of the room on the half-land- 
ing, where the furniture from Clergy-street had been 
stored, she placed her ear to the door and listened; but 
all was still, and she continued her way down the stairs. 

When she reached the rooms on the level of the hall, 
she paused again, and listened with almost painful eager- 
ness at each door; but she heard nothing, and when she 
tried the handles she found both doors locked, the keys 
being outside. 

Then she went to the staircase leading to the basement 
and listened again ; and hearing nothing crept down noise- 
lessly. She had reached almost the bottom when she 
stopped and pressed her hand to her heart. 

Someone was trying to break into the house at the 
back. She could hear the noise distinctly. 

She turned at once to go upstairs again and wake the 
man who slept at the top of the house, and was half-way 
up the staircase when a thought stopped her. 

The burglar was not yet inside the house and could 
do her no harm ; and she ought to try and see him so as 
to be able to recognize him again. 

This thought excited her painfully, and she fought out 
a battle between her sense of duty and her fears. 

Duty won, and she went down the stairs again, holding 
her breath, and peeped into the back room. It was empty, 
and she then remembered that she herself had locked the 
door which led from the room into the scullery behind. 
This gave her confidence. She entered the room, and 


134 Miser. 

keeping close to the w 
across to the window? 

There was a man in the yfciu, . -client she 

looked out, he was examining the point or edge of some 
tool by the light of a bull's-eye lantern, which was placed 
on the ledge of the small, square scullery window. 

She watched him closely, and once or twice, as he bent 
forward and his face came within the little circle of light, 
thrown by the lantern, she thought the rather heavy 
features were familiar to her, but she could not recall 
where she had seen them. 

Suddenly the man picked up the lantern, and turned 
the light full on to the window out of which Marion was 
so intently watching him ; and his action was so quick that 
the girl was startled as she found the rays flash across 
her. She shrank back instantly and almost instinctively 
into the corner next to the window, alarmed lest the man 
should have caught sight of her; and she crouched down 
against the wall, and held her breath in her excitement. 

Apparently he had not noticed her, for the next instant 
the light was turned on to a particular spot of one of the 
window bars, and the girl heard the sound of a file, as the 
man worked at the bar with the evident intention of re- 
moving it in order to enter the house. 

Marion started up to leave the place and get assistance, 
but the light from the lantern shone clearly through the 
window in such a position that she could not get to the 
door without passing across it, and if she did this the man 
could hardly fail to see her. 

She kept still, therefore, and listened intently to the 
rasping sound of the file as it worked its way through the 



*35 


Burglary at Morris-Place 

bar. After a few minutes the sound stopped, and she 
heard the file laid aside. Then came a violent pull at the 
bar, and the sound as it was wrenched out of its place 
warned the girl that in another minute or two the man 
would be inside the house. 


CHAPTER XIII 


A PERILOUS RESOLVE 

When the girl recognized that the man's task of break- 
ing into the house was so nearly completed, she began to 
feel afraid that she had stayed too long in the room to 
be able to get away without risk to herself, or at least 
without scaring the man away from the house ; and now 
she was very unwilling to do this. 

While she had been watching him, she had also been 
considering why he should be making so determined an 
attempt to break into a half-empty house. There was 
nothing that she possessed that could possibly tempt a bur- 
glar. The people at the top of the house were no better 
off than herself, and if the whole of their possessions 
could have been carried away, they would have yielded 
only a scanty reward for the thief. 

Then it had occurred to Marion that the man had come 
after the goods that had been removed from Clergy- 
street, and she was anxious to see whether this was the 
case. 

All fear had left her. Conscious that help was at hand 
if she needed it, and that she could easily rouse the man 
upstairs — whose name was Peters — she was very anxious 
not to let the thief know that his movements were 
observed. 


136 



A Perilous Resolve 


1 37 


Her reason for this was that if the man was breaking 
in, in order to get access to the property brought from 
Clergy-street, he was probably connected in some way 
with the murder. She might in the result, therefore, be 
able to trace him. 

She watched his every action with the keenest vigi- 
lance, and it was her eagerness that had led her to place 
herself in such a position as that the line of the lantern’s 
light lay between her and the door of the room. 

As soon as the man had wrenched the bar from its 
position, he turned the lantern for a moment on to the 
fastening of the window and examined it. That instant 
was enough for Marion who crossed the room very quickly 
and quite noiselessly. 

She now watched him from a safe distance, and with 
the means of retreat assured to her. 

The man placed the lantern on the window-sill again, 
and inserted something between the window frames. The 
girl heard the fastening spring back and saw the man raise 
the window very gently and slowly, until it was high 
enough up for him to pass through. He put the lantern 
through and flashed it all over the room while he peered 
in, his head and shoulders being through the window. 
Then he made the lantern dark and prepared to enter 
the room. 

At that moment, Marion turned and ran swiftly and 
silently up the first flight of stairs, and waited and 
listened. She heard him pull back the bar into its place 
and lower the window, take off his boots, unlock the 
doors so that he could get out without hindrance, and 
then creep towards her across the room. 


138 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

She had determined to watch him, if possible, and 
mark all that he did. The question in her mind was 
which of the rooms he would attempt to enter. 

She ran lightly up the flight of stairs leading from 
the hall, and then stopped to see whether he would at- 
tempt to enter the empty rooms on the hall floor, or make 
at once for the room in which the furniture from Clergy ~ 
street was stored. 

She heard him come gently up the kitchen stairs, and 
presently saw the dim outline of his figure as he reached 
the hall. He did not stop in his progress; all that he 
did was to throw one quick flash of his lantern around, 
as if to make sure where he was. 

The girl held her breath and moved as lightly as possi- 
ble, keeping close to the wall as she passed on up the 
stairs ahead of him, fearing lest the stairs might creak 
beneath her feet, and so give the man warning. 

She made no noise, however, and going past her own 
room, went up a few stairs and then looked cautiously 
down over the balustrade to watch the man. 

He went straight to the little room, and Marion saw 
him standing in front of it, examining the fastenings by 
the little circle of light thrown by the lantern, when held 
close to the door. 

After about a minute’s scrutiny, the man took some 
keys from his pocket and tried them one after another 
in the lock. One of them seemed to fit and with a little 
trouble he succeeded in opening the door. As he was 
doing this, he had to bend down once or twice, and the 
lantern, which he had placed on the floor, enabled Marion 
to see his back. Instantly, she recognized it, or thought 


A Perilous Resolve 


1 39 


she could do*~$o, as that of the man who had come to 
the house in the evening with the woman to ask if there 
were rooms to let. 

As this occurred to her, she hurried upstairs and awoke 
the lodgers- there ; told them what had occurred, and 
asked Mr. Peters to come down with her, and endeavor 
to catch the burglar in the act. He came instantly, and as 
they crept to the door and listened, they heard the man 
moving in the room. Thinking to surprise him, Mr. 
Peters tried to open the door gently; but found it fas- 
tened. Then he knocked loudly and called to the man 
to open the door, and at the same time told his wife 
who had come down, pale and frightened, to run to the 
front door and call the police. 

Inside the room a good deal of noise was made, some 
of the furniture was knocked down, and the window 
was opened. Mr. Peters tried to force the door; but 
did not succeed until a policeman arrived. Then acting 
together, they soon had the door open ; but the room was 
empty. 

The man had escaped by the window, climbing over 
some low roofs on to the wall of the yard. The constable 
fetched assistance and a search was made of all the likely 
places at the back, but nothing was found ; and the only 
result of it all was the discovery of a crow-bar, or 
" jimmy,” which the man had dropped in his flight. 

Marion was very disappointed at the result, and blamed 
herself for the man’s escape. As the constable said, if she 
had given the alarm in the first instance to him, the house 
could have been surrounded, when the man must have 
been captured. 


140 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

As early as possible on the following morning, Marion 
went to tell Mr. Price of what had happened. 

He looked very grave at the story, and asked a number 
of questions. 

“ Have you examined these things from Clergy-street, 
Miss Jannaway ! ” 

“ Yes,” replied Marion ; “ nearly all of them. I may 
say all.” 

“ Have you found nothing in them ? ” 

“ Nothing at all. I have not looked over every indi- 
vidual paper; and there are many old deeds and law 
papers, several of which are marked ‘ canceled/ that I 
have not read. But I have opened everything, and so far 
as I can judge there is nothing to be found.” 

“ Well, I will tell you how it strikes me. I may be 
wrong, but I think the matter is worth looking into. It 
seems to me not at all unlikely that this man, last night, 
was following the goods from Clergy-street because he 
had not been able to examine them as closely as he wished 
while they remained there; and it really looks as if he 
and those who are working with him — for I don’t sup- 
pose he is alone — know, what we only believe, that 
there are valuables among your father’s property. Any- 
way, if they do not know it, they think it ; and that ought- 
to be enough for us, if we act discreetly. 

“ What do you think we can do, Mr. Price? ” 

” Well, I’ll tell you what I believe would be a good 
step. Make these goods a decoy. Put them back into 
the house in Clergy-street, and have the place watched 
in the most thorough manner. By-the-way, how many 


A Perilous Resolve 


141 

people knew that the things had been taken from Clergy- 
street to Morris-place? ” 

“ That’s impossible to say. They were removed quite 
publicly, and anyone might have followed the van. I 
myself have been followed several times in the street; 
and if anyone would follow me, they would much more 
easily follow a loaded van,” replied Marion. 

“ But how came the man to spot the room in the house 
where you had stored them?” 

“ That is not quite so easy to see, perhaps,” returned 
Marion ; “ unless those who followed the van were able 
to see where the goods were placed. This may have been 
the case, because, when the safe was carried in, some men 
in the street were asked to help, as it was too heavy 
for the men with the van.” 

“ I see,” replied the lawyer, “ that might easily have 
been the case. At any rate, I do not think it is safe for 
you to be in the house without greater protection than 
you have.” 

“ I am not afraid,” said Marion, “ but I will act upon 
that suggestion of yours, to make the goods a decoy.” 

She set about the task immediately she left the lawyer’s 
office. She went to a locksmith and told him to send 
a couple of men at once to 50 Clergy-street, to examine 
all the locks and fastenings ; and she went with them her- 
self, and left the door of the house open and the windows, 
so that the neighbors could see that some preparations 
were being made in the house, and that some change was 
contemplated. 

She kept passing in and out of the house and drew 


142 


Miser Hoadley 


as much attention as possible to what v/as being done. 
She even went so far as to engage a couple of men 
whom she found in the street, to be at the house at a 
certain time, to help in carrying in the safe which she 
meant to send back with the goods to the house. 

While she was busy with these preparations she was 
also occupied with the very important question — “ Who 
was to watch the house ? ” 

If Mr. Price was right in thinking that the goods would 
form a bait which would attract the thieves to the house, 
it was essential that the work should be done with the 
greatest shrewdness and vigilance, and in a way that 
would not be suspected outside. 

Then it occurred to her that if the thief of the previous 
night was really in league with the murderers of her 
father, and was resolved to follow up the goods, he might 
see the trap too easily if the goods were put back into 
the house without any reason. As all her present actions 
were based on the assumption that in some way the mur- 
derer had means of learning her movements, she resolved 
to give it out that the house was being got ready for 
herself, that she intended to live there, and that her fur- 
niture was to be moved into the house for that purpose. 
She declared, however, that she would not take possession 
of the house for a week, and she reckoned that the man 
would make his attack on the house within that time, if 
he made it at all. She went, therefore, to several of the 
houses, in the street, and, saying that she would want 
someone to do the rough work of the house from that day 
week — it was then Friday — she asked if they could tell 
her of a likely person. 


A Perilous Resolve 143 

In this way she reckoned that the fact of her coming 
to stay at the house would soon get known, while it 
would be supposed that the furniture would be unpro- 
tected in the house for a week. 

What had to be done, therefore, was to arrange for a 
thoroughly efficient watch being kept on the house during 
that week. Who was to do this ? 

Surely, there was no one who would do it so thoroughly 
as herself ! 

When the thought occurred to her it startled her a 
little, for a moment; but she recognized that it was in 
reality by far the best course, and she soon conquered 
all her apprehensions and resolved that she would take it. 

She decided to get into the house without being seen, 
and to remain there for the whole of the week, during 
which it would be thought to be unoccupied. 

It was a daring resolve; but Marion was no ordinary 

girl- 


CHAPTER XIV 


marion's vigil at clergy-street 

As soon as Marion had formed the decision to remain 
in the house in Clergy-street she commenced to make 
the necessary preparations. She went away at once and 
had the safe brought from Morris-place, and sent with 
it only a little of the furniture. The rest she arranged to 
have carried round after dusk, so that she might take 
an opportunity of getting into the house and remaining 
there unobserved. 

Then she had to provide herself with enough food 
to last a week. Moreover it had to be of such a kind 
as would need no cooking ; since it was obvious she must 
not attempt to light a fire. She purchased as much 
tinned meat and fruits as she thought would suffice for 
a week, with biscuits instead of bread. These things she 
packed carefully in the safe before she sent it away to 
the house. 

There were several points which gave her much 
thought. In the first place she must be prepared to 
defend herself against any danger; and for this purpose 
she determined to have fire-arms. She bought a revolver 
and a supply of cartridges, therefore, and congratulated 
herself on the fact that she had already learnt how to 
use the weapon. 


144 



Clergy-Street 


145 


- * — oideration was to provide some 

means of escape . M the house in case she should be 
compelled to fly. For this purpose she examined the 
house very carefully, and found that from the back win- 
dow of the first floor, she could get out on to a low roof 
and so escape into the garden; and that from the front 


room she could, if necessary, jump; or if there was 
time to make a more leisurely escape, she could get a 
footing on the small old-fashioned ledge which jutted out 
over the front door, and from there could drop into the 
street. 

She examined all these points with great caution and 
coolness. She knew well enough that the task she was 
going to undertake was one of danger as well as diffi- 
culty; and tried to minimise the risk as far as possible. 
She remembered that when the man had broken into 
Morris-place on the previous night, the calmness with 
which she had watched his movements so closely had been 
due to the assurance that means of rescue were at hand ; 
and she knew that this sense of safety was necessary to 
her if she meant to succeed in Clergy-street. 

There was another matter that claimed careful atten- 
tion. She had learnt from Mrs. Bloxam that the front 
room on the ground floor was the only room which her 
father had used for some years. It was in this he had 
been killed. She was acting on the assumption that 
anyone who followed the goods to the house would have 
a knowledge of her father’s habits, and if the furniture 
were placed in the room as before it would be to that 
room that the thieves in all probability would go. She 
therefore made a double preparation. She had most of 


146 


Miser Hoadley’s Sec. 


the furniture replaced in such positions as it had formerly 
occupied ; and she contrived a means by which she would 
be able to watch from the room over it anything that 
might go on in her father’s room or anybody who might 
enter it. For this purpose she took advantage of the 
fact that the ceiling in the lower room had fallen down 
in one or two places, and had not been repaired. By 
having a couple of the floor boards in the room upstairs 
taken up, and by displacing some of the ceiling laths, 
she was able to see over nearly the whole of the room 
beneath. 

As soon as the safe had been delivered, she left the 
house and returned to Morris-place to make her last 
preparations. She determined that the fact of her pres- 
ence in Clergy-street should be known to no one — not 
even to Ralph. She thought that if she told him, he 
would either try to dissuade her, or, failing that, would 
be led by anxiety to watch the house at Clergy-street to 
such an extent as to foil the object she had in view. 

Very much the same reasoning prevailed with her in 
regard to the solicitor, Mr. Price; and she therefore 
wrote to both of them, saying that she had been called 
away from London, arid might not return for a week. 
At Morris-place, she told the people she was going down 
into Devonshire, and mentioned the name of a small town 
in that county as her destination; but she asked that if 
any strangers came to the house for her, no information 
of any kind should be given to them, beyond the fact 
that at the moment she was not at home. 

After that, she completed the final arrangements, and, 
as soon as the van came for the remainder of- the fur- 



~/i ci V 


eiy enough on what she knew 


it Clergy-Street 147 


might ue a^Very perilous adventure. 

Her first difficulty was to hide the fact of her presence 
in the house at the outset. This she managed by not 
showing herself at all in the front of the house during 
the time the van was there; and by getting one of the 
men, when he left, to slam the door with plenty of noise, 
and to stand for a moment as if to lock it. 

“ I am going to put some of the things in order,” she 
said to him, in explanation, “ before I leave to-night, and 
I don’t want a lot of people knocking at the door to 
interrupt me. If they think the house is empty they 
won’t bother.” 

The sound of the door as it closed behind the men, 
and the noise of the wheels as the van was driven away, 
caused Marion to feel exceedingly lonely, and seemed 
to make her, for the first time, fully sensible of the 
dreariness and danger of the course she had taken. 

She would not allow herself to give way to the feel- 
ing, however; but went about very quietly, but very 
busily, making such preparations as she thought neces- 
sary. 

While the furniture was being brought in, she Had 
made herself perfectly acquainted with the plan of the 
house, so that she could find her way about in the dark 
— for it was quite dark in the house — and as she had 
determined to use the front room on the upper floor while 
in the house, she carried up to it such things as she was 
likely to need. 

In the earlier part of the day, by means of some small 
holes in the blinds, she had been careful to provide 


148 Miser Hoadley’s Seci 

means of being able to look out into the street in front, 
and into the yards at the rear, without being observed. 

When she had carried up all the articles of furniture 
that she intended to use, and had tired herself in the 
work, she sat down on a folding-chair bedstead which 
she had provided, to rest and think. 

The silence and darkness were a great trial to her 
nerves; and when the stillness was broken, as it was 
occasionally, by the rapid scurrying of rats and mice 
underneath the boards, she would start up as if some- 
one were in the house. 

An empty house is always melancholy. The echoes 
of noises from the outside, the creaking of doors, the 
rattling of windows, the mysterious cracks which the 
timbers give, the moaning and sobbing and rustling of 
the wind in chimneys and windows and through keyholes, 
all have a disquieting effect, the discomfort and dreari- 
ness of which are increased a hundredfold by utter dark- 
ness. 

After she had been sitting some time brooding upon 
the lonesomeness of the situation, Marion heard the bell 
in some neighboring clock tower strike nine. 

This suggested a curious line of reflection to her. 

When was any attempt likely to be made upon the 
house? It seemed probable to her that nothing would 
happen that night. It was likely, she believed, that the 
news of her father’s goods being put back into the house 
would be known, but if there was any idea that the plan 
was intended as a trap, ordinary caution would suggest 
the advisability of letting at least one night pass without 
doing more than watch the house closely. She thought 



rgy-Street 


149 


_»ne pair of cunning, 
wn, uci.pl. ££ that moment bent upon the 

place; and sharp ears might be listening for the least 
sound of any movement inside the house. 

Then she tried to judge what would be the hour at 
which the house would be entered. If the object was 
a search among her father’s property, it was most prob- 
able that the thieves would seek to have as long a time 
as possible for the search, and she reckoned that she 
might expect them as early in the evening as they could 
safely venture to break in. If the people likely to come 
to the place were really the murderers of her father, they 
would be certain to be very much more cautious, she 
thought, than any ordinary thieves, because they would 
feel the danger of being discovered in the act of ransack- 
ing the goods of the man they had killed. Suspicion of 
the graver crime would certainly attach to them, and 
the fear of this suspicion would be greater in proportion 
to their guilt. 

She came, therefore, to two conclusions ; first, that the 
attack would surely be made under cover of darkness, 
and from the back of the house, and that it would not 
be made that night. In some degree these considerations 
gave her relief. After she had been some hours in the 
house she would feel more accustomed to her surround- 
ings and more able to cope with difficulties. 

In order to pass the time, she had brought with her 
one or two books and the cipher which had been left 


in the will. 

She had provided herself with a dark lantern, the 
value of which to her for her present purposes had been 


150 Miser Hoadley’s Sec 

suggested by the use which she had seen the burglar 
make of one at Morris-place on the preceding night. 

Taking the utmost precaution against any ray of light 
showing on the blind, she lit the lantern and held it 
just at such a distance from the paper as that the 
round disc of light was focussed entirely upon it. In this 
way she read and re-read the cipher; renewing a most 
pains-taking study of it, at a point where she believed 
she had found a slight clue. She found it difficult to 
fix her thoughts upon it, owing to her novel position ; 
and she therefore took up one of the books she had 
brought with her and read it instead. 

The hours passed wearily away; but her vigilance did 
not relax in the slightest. Whenever she found herself 
growing sleepy, she rose from the chair, turned the slide 
of the lantern and walked up and down the room to 
keep herself awake. Gradually she grew accustomed to 
the little sounds in the house and ceased to' pay heed to 
them. Several times at the commencement of her watch 
she had been startled at hearing noises ; and more than 
once she had crept out on the landing and listened with 
every nerve strained to the utmost. But she had managed 
to account for the cause of each false alarm, or thought 
she had, and had laughed away her nervousness. 

Thus the night passed away, and she heard every 
hour struck by the neighboring clock. At four o’clock 
she made up her mind that no attempt would be made 
to disturb the house at any rate until the next night, and 
she determined to have some sleep. 

It was restless, broken, dreamful sleep at first, and 
more than once she awoke, nervous and frightened, and 


^icigy-Street* 151 

linking that someone had broken 
in tiic danger she feared had to be faced at once. 
But after some time she fell into deeper slumber, and 
did not awake until nearly ten o’clock. 

One of her first acts was to go round the house and 
see that none of the fastenings of the doors or windows 
had been touched; and while doing that it occurred to 
her that she ought to make a strict search into every hole 
and comer of the house while she was there; and she 
decided to commence the work as soon as she had had 
something to eat. 

Breakfast was a very simple matter — some tinned meat, 
a few biscuits, and a cup of water — and was soon finished. 
Then she went to her peep-holes in the blinds, and looked 
out. It was a dull, misty, murky day, and there was no 
one in the sloppy, dirty street. 

After this, she went downstairs into what had been 
her father’s room, and commenced her search. She had 
a week before her, she thought, and could take her time. 
She spent some hours in turning over, opening, reading, 
and scrutinizing the papers that were in the safe, but she 
found nothing. There were a quantity of papers and 
parchments, apparently leases and mortgages, but whether 
they were of value or not, she could not say. She thought 
not, because they had for the most part passed through 
the hands of Mr. Price, and she noticed that many had 
the word “ canceled ” written across them, while nearly 
all were without signatures, or seals, or stamps; these 
having apparently been tom off. 

At any rate, there was nothing that threw any light 
upon the cipher, and Marion laid them all together and 


1 5 2 


Miser Hoadley’s Sec 


put them back in the safe and locked it again. All she 
had so far accomplished had been to make herself weary 
and dirty in the work. 

Under the rusty, dirty grate, and lying loose about the 
fire-place were some scraps of paper, some twisted up, 
others torn in small pieces, and all dirty and grimy. 
Whether they had been left there by her father or thrown 
there by the police when they had made their search, it 
was impossible to say ; but the girl picked up one or two 
with something like idle curiosity. Feeling that they 
could not be of any value or importance she unrolled 
them carelessly. 

One of them, however, surprised her very much. 

It was a portion of the diagram of the keyboard of 
a Hammond typewriter, and on the margin in more than 
one place, figures were written much in the same way 
as they were written in the cipher. She smoothed out 
the paper taking the greatest care and pains, and made 
an eager search for any other papers of a similar char- 
acter. 

She was thoroughly interested now, and indeed very 
much excited. 

She thought she had found what might prove to be 
the clue to the cipher that had so puzzled them all. 

Every scrap of paper, however small, was brought to 
the light, dusted carefully, and examined intently. Every 
piece that seemed to have the slightest connection with 
that which had so excited Marion was laid with it for 
subsequent scrutiny, and every paper she could rake out 
from the dust and dirt was jealously kept for the same 
purpose. 


1 at Clergy-Street 153 

-ie hours of her search, she had 
co aie window and look out, and once 
or twice she had taken special notice of the persons she 
had seen. Several people had seemed to her to look 
closely at the house as they passed, and more than one 
had, in passing, slackened speed and scanned the house 
from roof to pavement. She could recognize none of 
these, and could only wonder whether they had any real 
purpose in stopping to look, or whether they were merely 
vaguely attracted by knowing it was the scene of the 
Clergy-street murder. 

One man, especially, she noticed, who took the greatest 
interest in the place. He passed it several times, each 
time looking closely at it, and once he had stopped and 
leant against an opposite wall and stared for some minutes 
at the house. Marion saw him look up and down the 
street, as if to satisfy himself that no one was watching 
him, and then he crossed the road and tried to peep 
into the house through the parlor window. After that 
he went back and entered a hous’e some two or three 
doors higher up the street. From that moment Marion 
included the house in her scrutiny, and she was inclined 
to think she could see him at an upper window still 
watching No. 50. But the light was not clear enough 
for the girl to be sure that this opinion was more than 
fancy. 

The excitement caused by the discovery of the sup- 
posed clue to the cipher led Marion to neglect in some 
measure the duty of watching the outside of the house; 
but when she had collected her papers and carried them 
upstairs she went at once to the blind. She stayed look- 


. r 

154 Miser Hoadley’s Sec 

ing out for some considerable time, and it was with in- 
tense surprise and indeed consternation that she saw 
Ralph Gething walk slowly past on the other side of 
the street, looking in the direction of the house all the 
time. She waited, wondering, rather painfully, what this 
might mean and presently he returned, loitering still 
more slowly than before; and looking at the house just 
as intently as before. She waited a long time at the 
peep-hole of observation, but he did not return ; and the 
gathering dusk made it increasingly difficult to see what 
went on in the street. 

She turned away from the window and sat still, trying 
to think why, when she had told Ralph in her letter, 
that she was going into the country, he should come to 
watch the house in Clergy-street. 

The incident made her very uncomfortable, and in 
order to divert her thoughts, she prepared herself some 
food and ate it; and then, by the aid of the dark lantern, 
settled down to try and put together the pieces of the 
puzzle concerning the cipher. 

She threw all her energy and perseverance into the 
work, and with untiring patience and industry she spent 
some hours comparing the cipher with the marks on the 
papers she had found, checking the figures and writing 
them down whenever she discovered any which seemed 
to C9rrespond, and searching, for any signs that might 
help the work of interpretation. 

The first reward of her labors was the discovery that' 
her father had used the keyboard of the typewriter, as 
shown in the diagram, had copied out certain of the signs 
on it, and in this way had formed a few simple words. 


s Vigil at Clergy-Street 155 

^ Marion to have been by way of practice 
-ise — as if the old man had used the papers 
v ..wn she had found for the purpose of inventing the 
cipher. 

Her excitement at this discovery became intense. 

If she once mastered these few words, and applied 
the knowledge to the paper written in cipher, she would 
probably be able to read it easily, she thought; and the 
thought made her heart beat fast with excitement. Then 
she went on steadily and laboriously with her task, and 
made a fresh discovery, at which she jumped up from 
her chair. 

“ I have it ! ” she cried, exultingly. “ I see what he 
has done ! ” 

At that moment a loud noise of some heavy body 
falling sounded through the house, and sent the blood 
flowing back into the girl’s heart. 

She caught her breath, and pressed her hand to her 
heart to stop its quick beating, and for the moment could 
do nothing. But she quickly recovered herself, and first 
darkened the lantern, which she had forgotten in her 
eagerness about the cipher. Then she took her revolver 
in hand, and crept out on to the landing to listen. 


CHAPTER XV 


'A TERRIBLE SURPRISE 

M arion divined immediately what had caused the noise, 
and guessed from what part of the house it came. 

Someone was trying to break into the house, either 
by the back door or through the window of the back 
room. 

She waited and listened, breathless with excitement. 
She was not afraid, or not conscious of fear. She felt 
the need of being quite cool and self-possessed. Her 
object was to get a sight of the persons so as to be able 
to identify them ; and she knew that she must keep abso- 
lutely self-possessed. 

She did not intend to interfere with the thieves in 
any way. All her movements would be directed — first, 
to getting a good view of them ; second, to defending her- 
self, should she be attacked or molested. She had not 
much expectation of this. She believed that, in all proba- 
bility, the men would not come upstairs, but would make 
what search they wanted to make among the furniture 
in the room downstairs. Moreover, they would not ex- 
pect anyone to be in the house but themselves, and thus 
would look for no one. 

The time could not but be an anxious one, however, 
and the minutes of suspense were trying. 

156 


. .a the first noise was so long 
.. •* i to think the men must have scared 
themselves and have gone away ; and she determined to 
do down and see for herself. 

She slipped off her boots as quietly as possible; she 
was wearing the thick stockings that had proved so 
serviceable two nights before, and grasping her revolver 
tightly in her right hand, she crept down the staircase. 
As she passed, one or two of the stairs creaked slightly 
under her weight, and each time this happened she 
stopped and waited, holding her breath, lest the sound 
should have reached the thieves. 

She heard nothing, however, and continued her way. 
When she reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in 
the passage she waited again, and tried to look into the 
back room, the door of which opened from the passage. 
But she could see nothing; and then with noiseless tread 
she went to the door which she had purposely left open, 
and peeped in. 

As she did so the bell in the clock tower, near at hand, 
struck, and the sound made her start violently, and draw 
back instantly. But she smiled at her own nervousness, 
and in order to compose herself, counted the strokes. It 
was eleven o’clock. 

Then she looked again into the room, but there was 
nothing whatever to be seen. 

She was about to enter, when a sound, which seemed 
almost at her elbow, made her turn quickly and raise 
the hand which held the revolver. 

The sound, however, came from the kitchen, at the end 
of the passage. This was shut off by a door which stood 


158 

slightly open, arid in the empty hou^e the sound had 
traveled from there, and hcd seemed nearer than it 
was. 

The man had gained an entrance, either by the kitchen 
window or by the back door, and was already in the 
house. Marion ran lightly up the stairs again, till she 
reached the landing outside the door of the room upstairs. 

She was only just in time, for as she turned to look 
down, a light, guarded and guided carefully, appeared 
in the passage below, and the door of the kitchen was 
opened, and a man, the outline of whose figure she could 
only faintly discern, walked with cautious, hesitating foot- 
steps along the passage toward the front room. 

Despite his caution, however, his ignorance of the place 
led him to stumble over a half stair in the passage, and 
the light fell from his hand, and was extinguished in the 
fall. 

A smothered exclamation reached the ears of the girl 
above, and she felt the balustrade move and tremble as he 
rolled against it and clutched at it to save himself. She 
heard him grope about the floor for the lantern till he 
found it; then he struck a match to relight it, but he 
was by this time so far forward in the passage that 
Marion could not see him, although she made every 
effort. 

Next she heard him go into the front room. 

Marion’s next task would, she felt, be one of imminent 
risk. She had to cross a rather creaky floor, right above 
the man’s head, in order to reach the place where the 
two boards had been taken up to admit of her seeing 
down into the room beneath. 


i 

Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


.Luc ight betray her presence to 

the man below, and urin^ him up to attack her; or, 
what she feared quite as much, might frighten him 
out of the house. She was a little undecided what 
to do. 

At last, however, she knelt down on the floor and 
moved an inch or two at a time, feeling her way across 
the floor to where the holes had been made. 

In the middle of her slow progress she remembered, 
somewhat to her dismay, that the cipher lay on the table, 
together with the papers on which she had written what 
she believed would prove the clue to it. If any attack 
were made upon her and she had to escape from the 
house and leave these behind her, they would fall into 
others’ hands. It was necessary to get them at once, and 
keep them in her possession. 

She crawled to the table, therefore, and raising her- 
self very gradually and slowly, she showed enough light 
from the lantern to enable her to find them and put them 
in her pocket; then she lay down at full length on the 
floor, and looked through into the room beneath. 

There was a faint glimmer of light thrown by the 
man’s lantern, but the man himself was not to be seen. 
Marion could hear him moving very quietly in the room, 
but the hole was not large enough for the girl to see 
over all the room. 

She had therefore to crawl to the other opening; and 
she did this, very slowly and cautiously, not daring to 
move more than a few inches, without stopping to listen. 
Her progress, though thus very slow, was absolutely 
noiseless, and there was not the slightest indication on 


160 Miser Hoadley’s Secre; 

the part of the man in the room below that he had any 
suspicion that he was not alone in the house. 

Marion was sorely disappointed, however, to find that 
even from this second hole, she could see nothing of the 
man himself. She could hear him distinctly, could al- 
most hear him breathe, though her heart was beating fast ; 
but she could not see him. She craned her neck in all 
directions in her efforts to catch a glimpse of him, but 
all in vain, and there was nothing to be done but to wait 
for him to move into view. 

He was evidently searching among such papers as 
were in the room ; and the girl could hear the rustle and 
crackle of papers and parchments as he turned them 
over, opened them, and folded them again. 

This search continued for a long time without the man 
moving into view; and Marion heard the clock strike 
one. He had been in the house two hours; and yet the 
time had seemed scarcely more than a few minutes. 

Soon after that the man moved. She saw his shadow 
in the light of his lantern, and then his figure came be- 
tween her and the light. 

Her heart began to beat again very fast, as she thought 
she was about to see his face clearly ; when she observed 
him start and turn, and then put out the light of his 
lantern. 

Outside, in the street, a whistle sounded, followed by 
a shout. Then some footsteps came hurrying along the 
pavement, followed by a confused murmur of several 
voices shouting and calling loudly, with many cries and 
oaths. Someone seemed suddenly to fall or be knocked 
against the front door; and then the tumult and clamor 


1 6 1 

-e. A yell was raised, with 
^ . jie stones were thrown against 

.. 4 ut them came crashing through the 

fanlight above it. 

The noise increased in vehemence ; the shrill hard tones 
of women raised in angry cries, joined with the gruff 
hoarse cries of men, and a chorus of hoots and groans 
from a number of people was kept up, while the tramping 
and stamping of heavy feet on the roadway and pave- 
ments, indicated that the excitement was growing. Then 
a shout was raised that the police were coming and, in a 
moment, a great shuffling of feet and stampede, with 
laughter and cries, which ceased gradually, showed that 
the crowd had run away; and when the loud, regular 
tread of three or four police constables, as they marched 
past the door, had died away in the distance, all was 
silent as before. 

Marion had raised herself on her elbow, as she lay on 
the floor to listen, half-afraid that the crowd were going 
to break into the house, and it was not until she heard 
a movement in the room below that she looked down 
again through the broken floor. 

The man was trying to strike a match, and he was 
now in a position which enabled Marion to watch him 
closely. The first match flickered for a moment and then 
went out, only showing a feeble light in the room for an 
instant. 

He took more care with the second, and as its rays 
lightened the darkness of the room, Marion saw that 
which almost made her cry out with surprise. The man 
was stooping down with his back to the door, shading 





. I " ’ ^ .. 

162 Miser Hoadley’s 

the match as carefully as possible, int<fc: ! c upon re-lighting 
the wick of his lantern. He cojidd not, therefore, see what 
Marion saw, distinctly enough — the face of another man 
who was looking in at the open door of the room, watch- 
ing the first comer with the closest attention. 

Marion held her breath with excitement and waited. 

The second match failed like the first to kindle the 
wick, and, before another could be struck, the man at 
the door flashed a strong light on the other, and called to 
him in gruff, harsh tones: 

“ Now, then, what’s your little game ’ere? ” 

The man, who was stooping down, sprang up at the 
words and turned round. 

To her dismay, Marion recognized the face of her 
lover, Ralph Gething. He was disguised in shabby 
clothes, and his features were muffled up, but she recog- 
nized him in a moment. 

“ Who are you ? ” cried Ralph Gething ; and Marion 
knew the voice instantly, though now it was hoarse and 
hollow, and rather broken. * 

“ You’ll soon find out who I am,” replied the other, 
" when you come along o’ me to the station. You’d better 
come quietly — else I’ll put the darbies on.” 

“ Do you mean you’ll arrest me? ” cried Ralph. 

“ Yes, that’s just it. I arrest you on suspicion of being 
concerned in the murder of old Hoadley. Ah! would 
you?” 

Ralph Gething had rushed at him and knocked the 
lantern from his hand — there was a sharp, brief violent 
struggle between the two men in the passage, a cry or 
two, then someone dashed along the passage to the back 




“ Now, then, what’s your little game 


Page it>2 

















































































































A Terrible Surprise 163 

of the house ; a door was slammed violently, and then all 
was still again. 

Marion was so horrified by the discovery that it was 
Ralph Gething who had broken into the house, and so 
frightened by the events that had followed upon his being 
found by the detective, that she lay still on the floor un- 
able to move. 

What could it all mean ? All the little doubts she had 
entertained about her lover — the coincidences as she had 
called them — crowded upon her memory, as she lay won- 
dering what would be the outcome of his arrest, and they 
seemed to confirm the opinion of his guilt, almost beyond 
the possibility of doubt. 

She was too overcome to be able to think connectedly ; 
but, gradually, one idea took shape in her mind, and 
one desire possessed her, driving out all others. 

She must get away from the house. If she could have 
guessed, even remotely, any part of the terrible discovery 
she had made, she would never have come. 

While she was thinking in this confused, pained way, 
she began to feel almost afraid. This was one of the 
effects of the shock upon her nerves. She had been brave 
enough before; but, now that the real danger seemed 
to be over, her fears overcame her. She longed with in- 
tense desire to get out of the house and yet was afraid 
to try and go away. 

She waited a little time to get calmer and more self- 
possessed, and at length, by dint of . great effort, she 
mastered her fears. 

Just when she was about to rise from the ground, how- 
ever, she heard again someone moving downstairs. 


164 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


A door opened, and soft muffled footsteps came along 
the passage, and a man entered the front room. 

It was he who had surprised Ralph Gething and had 
said he would arrest him. 

Ralph had escaped apparently, and Marion’s heart beat 
joyously, and yet anxiously at the thought. She looked 
through into the room below and watched the man. 

He was sitting down, looking into his lantern, which 
he had found and relighted. 

Marion recognized him directly; it was the same man 
who had broken into Morris-place two nights before, and 
the same whom she had seen that morning enter the house 
on the opposite side of the street. 

How then could it be a detective? 

She watched him with the keenest, closest interest, 
as he searched about the floor for something he had 
lost. It was a revolver, and an expression of pleasure 
escaped him when he found it. He examined it by the 
light of his lantern, and put it away in his pocket. Then 
he sat down and laughed softly but gruffly, as he spoke 
to himself in a low, husky muffled voice. 

“ What a green ’un ! ” he said chuckling, and with 
an oath, “ if he didn’t take me for a copper. What a 
go! Wonder who the dickens he was and what he 
wanted. Thought I wanted to take him to the station, 
the softy; and nearly downed me when he rushed at me 
like that. Thinks he’s escaped from the police,” and he 
chuckled again. “ The fool ; but he’s made the place a 
bit too hot, to-night, with all that beastly row. Glad I 
saw his light and came in to stop his little game. But 
I shan’t stop to-night. Somebody may have heard us 


A Terrible Surprise 165 

goin’ it. I’ll have a look for the swag another night,” 
and then he left the place cautiously, and Marion breathed 
freely again as she heard him go down the passage to the 
kitchen to leave the house. 


/ 


CHAPTER XVI 


MY NAME IS LINN EGAN, JAMES LINNEGAN 

Marion rose slowly and wearily from the floor when 
she heard the man leaving the house, and crept out on 
to the landing and listened. She heard him moving 
about for a few minutes muttering to himself though she 
could not catch the words, and at last the small kitchen 
window was raised, there was a sound as of someone 
getting out of it, and then it was lowered. 

The man had gone away, and Marion was once more 
alone in the house. Not satisfied, however, with what 
she had heard, she crept down the stairs to the window 
for herself to find out how the two men had broke into 
the house. This was easily discovered. A pane of glass in 
the scullery window had been broken, and an iron bar 
which had crossed the window on the inside had been 
forced away. It lay on the floor, and it was the fall of 
this which Marion had heard in the first instance. 

The girl could do nothing to secure the window, and 
she therefore went back upstairs. 

She was troubled, miserable, and almost ill ; the result 
of the strain of the night’s events. She was not likely 
to be disturbed again ; she felt this ; and it was not from 

1 66 


My Name is Linnegan, James Linnegan 167 

fear that her emotion came. She was bewildered by the 
fact that she should have seen her lover under such cir- 
cumstances. 

What could have been his motive for breaking into the 
house and carrying on such a search? What could have 
been the connection between Ralph Gething and her 
father, that made the former wishful to pry and search 
among the dead man’s belongings ? Why should he have 
hidden all this from her? 

If he had only breathed a wish to do anything of the 
kind, while the furniture had been at Morris-place, he 
might have spent as many hours among them, as he 
pleased. Why then, should he wait until she was sup- 
posed to be away from London, and come like a thief in 
the night, to do this? She could not understand it. 

She tried very hard to make herself believe that Ralph’s 
actions were innocent, but she could not succeed. For a 
few moments she persuaded herself that Ralph, knowing 
of, or believing in the existence of valuable property, had 
come to search for it in order to give it up to her. Hut 
this was too preposterous to prevail long with her; he 
could have carried on the search quite as thoroughly at 
Morris-place, or he could have asked her for the keys 
of the Clergy-street house and have made the search 
openly. 

She resolved, however, to go straight to him, tell him 
all that she had seen, and ask him for an explanation. 

But who was the other man, the man who had sur- 
prised Ralph Gething, and had pretended to be a detec- 
tive? 

As the girl thought of him, she closed her eyes and 


1 68 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


lay back on the chair bedstead on which she was sitting, 
and recalled the whole scene, picturing to herself as 
vividly as possible the man’s features and appearance. 

It did, indeed, seem that the bait of the furniture had 
brought the man to the trap, and although she had not 
secured him, she had gained valuable information. 

She knew the man now by sight, and could easily 
recall his rather slight, but sinewy frame, somewhat heavy 
features, the underpart of the face large and protruding, 
the pale cheeks, and small eyes. She would not forget 
him. She had seen him too clearly and under circum- 
stances too strange for her ever to forget him again. He 
was the man who had broken into Morris-place ; she had 
no doubt of that, no more doubt than that he was the 
man who had watched the house in the daytime, and then 
entered a house opposite. 

Who was he? Why was he thus doggedly following 
her father’s property from place to place? These were 
the questions she had to solve; and she was determined 
to do it at any cost. 

Suddenly she started and jumped up from the chair, 
as a thought struck her. The man’s features were fa- 
miliar when she had seen him outside the house at Morris- 
place ; and like a flash of light the reason came to her. 

It was James Linnegan. The man whose photograph 
had been shown to her by the police. She recalled the 
man’s features one by one, and compared them with her 
recollection of the photograph. The short, supple, sinewy 
body, and the small bullet shaped head. The brow low, 
but somewhat square; the hair cut short and turning 
gray; the eyes small, and closely set, giving a look of 


My Name is Linnegan, James Linnegan 169 


quick, eager, clever, cunning to the face ; and more than 
all, the heavy jowl, protruding and making the face stem, 
hard and unpleasant. Yes, the more she thought of it, 
the more certain she was that the man was James Linne- 
gan. 

This added immensely to the importance of the dis- 
coveries she had made. Not only did she know Linnegan 
by sight, and had actually seen him on the spot where 
his crime had been committed, but' she knew where he 
was to be found. Her vigil had indeed been important. 
Now, it was clear enough why her movements had all 
been so easily followed. 

She waited impatiently for the time to come for her to 
leave the house, and she put together all the things she 
wished to take away. It would be best that if the house 
were searched again by Linnegan during her absence, the 
food she had brought with her and the lantern, should 
not be found by him, as in that event his suspicions 
might be roused, and he might fly. 

Such of them as she could carry, she determined to 
take away with her, and the rest she hid under the boards 
in the room. 

When the clock struck five, she decided to start; but 
then she reflected that, if she was seen when leaving 
the house, all her work would be undone, as the man 
Linnegan would be on his guard directly. Nor could 
she tell how many of the people in the street might be 
in league with him, and ready to report to him anything 
they saw. 

She went to the window and looked out through the 
hole in the blind ; but all was as dark as midnight. There 


170 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

was not a light to be seen in any of the houses. But 
other people could wait and watch in the dark, just as 
well as she herself, she thought; and it was most likely 
that more than one pair of eyes would be watching the 
house. 

Could she manage to get out of the house from the 
back? She remembered as this idea occurred to her 
that the detective had spoken of a gateway or yard 
some little distance down the street by which it was 
possible to get to the walls at the back; and she de- 
termined to try and leave the place by that means. 

To her surprise and pleasure, she found this was 
easier than she anticipated. At the bottom of the yard 
of No. 50 a box had been placed against the wall, prob- 
ably by one of the men who had broken in, and with 
the help of this, she had little difficulty in getting on to 
the wall. But she could not trust herself to walk along 
the wall in the darkness, and she had therefore to crawl 
along it, in the best way she could on her hands and 
knees. She made slow progress, but she found the yard 
at length, and managed to drop down into it, with no 
more mishap than that she could not keep her feet when 
she reached the ground. The fall was very slight and 
did not hurt her, and a minute afterwards, to her delight, 
she emerged into Clergy-street and hurried away in the 
direction opposite to No. 50, so that she should not 
be seen near the house. 

She walked away, quickly, not knowing where she was 
going, and passed through several streets. After going 
some distance she met a police constable and he told 
her the way to the Angel. She followed his directions 


My Name is Linnegan, James Linnegan 171 

without difficulty, and was soon well on her way home 
along the Upper-street, having met with no mishap. 

She was tired, and slackened her pace considerably as 
soon as she felt she could do so safely. 

The morning was very cold, and raw, and dark, and 
Marion took little or no notice of the few people she 
saw in the streets. Her thoughts were busy with the 
many exciting events that had been crowded into the 
last few hours. She had doubts as to the course which 
she ought to take; whether to go to the police at once, 
or to Mr. Price in the first instance. The real reason of 
her indecision, however, had nothing to do with either 
the police or Mr. Price ; it was caused entirely by the 
fears that she had concerning the part which Ralph 
Gething had played in the matter. 

Determined as she was that the murderer of her father 
should be brought to justice, she felt that she could not 
be the first to turn suspicion definitely upon her lover. 
Yet, how was she to conceal the fact of his presence in 
the house, if she once began to tell the story of the last 
thirty-six hours? Ultimately, she decided to do nothing 
until she had seen and questioned Ralph. The man who 
had committed the deed was James Linnegan. She was 
convinced of this, and he it was whom she resolved to 
track down. 

She had scarcely formed this general plan of action 
when, as she was standing at a corner of a street to 
allow a milk-cart to pass, someone crossed the road to- 
ward her, walking quickly, and to her profound astonish- 
ment, she recognized the man whose name had just been 
in her thoughts — James Linnegan. 


172 Miser Hoadley’s Secret ^ 

At first she believed that he had been following her, 
and half feared that he meditated an attack. But he was 
walking with his head bent down, and apparently had 
come up a cross street. When he neared her, he looked 
up, halted, and seemed as if about to speak; but he 
changed his mind and walked on at a quick pace. 

She turned and followed him directly, keeping him 
well within view. He walked through several streets 
and once or twice looked round and saw Marion. Then 
as they came to a square, he walked round two sides of 
it and looked back to see if she followed, then he stopped, 
and Marion stopped, stooping down as if to tie up her 
shoe. As soon as he walked on, she followed him slowly 
and he went round the remaining two sides of the square. 
He was then satisfied that the girl was following him, 
and he turned a corner out of sight. 

The girl quickened her pace lest he should try to 
get away, and as she reached the corner, he stepped in 
front of her and raised his hat and spoke to her. 

“ To what do I owe the honor of your following me? ” 
he asked. 

Marion was taken by surprise by the man’s act, but 
answered the question with plenty of spirit. 

“ The streets are as free for me as for you,” she said. 
” I am not bound to ask your leave where I may walk.” 

“ Quite true, quite true ; and answered like a girl of 
spirit. But that is precisely the reason why I decline 
to be followed by you any further.” His voice was not 
a pleasant one, deep in tone, and somewhat husky; but 
his manner was by no means either rough or even rude, 
and he laughed as he made the last reply. 


My Name is Linnegan, James Linnegan 173 

What surprised Marion most of all, however, was 
that he was very differently dressed. His appearance 
now was that of a well-to-do man of the middle class. 

“ I might consent, however, on one condition,” he 
added, after a pause, “ and that is that you tell me to 
whom I have the pleasure to speak, and what your object 
may be in following me.” 

“ And what if I refuse? ” asked Marion, quietly. 

“ Then I shall be compelled to deny you the oppor- 
tunity of following me, simply by remaining where I 
am.” He seemed to treat the matter rather as a jest 
than as anything else. 

“ My name is Jannaway — Marion Jannaway,” said the 
girl. “ I followed you to see where you were going.” 

“ Well, that is simple enough at any rate, and truth- 
ful, too, I’ve no doubt. In reply then I will tell you my 
name is Linnegan, James Linnegan, and I object, strongly 
object, to your doing anything of the kind. Stay, 
though,” he added, quickly. “ Are you the Miss Janna- 
way who lives at Morris-place, and has a house in Clergy- 
street to let? If so, I shall consider this a very fortunate 
meeting, a very extraordinary coincidence.” 

“Yes, I do live at Morris-place.” 

“ Ah, indeed, well I called there yesterday, when you 
were not at home,” answered the man, coolly. “ I wished 
to see you about taking the house in Clergy-street.” 

The girl could scarcely believe her ears ; but it was evi- 
dent to her that she had to do with a man of consummate 
coolness and daring, and she felt that she must be doubly 
on her guard. She now perceived how great and grave 
a mistake she had made in following him. If she was 


174 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

not very careful he would outwit her and be scared away. 
Even if a policeman appeared she would hesitate about 
giving him into custody at once, on account of the dis- 
tressing complication about Ralph Gething. This inter- 
view could do no good, therefore, and her best course 
seemed to her now to be to temporize with the man, dis- 
arm him of all suspicion, and get away. 

“ I am sorry I was not at home/’ she answered, “ but 
I shall be glad to consider the matter. I am sorry also 
that I have annoyed you by following you. I have made 
a mistake I find. Please excuse me. The letting of the 
house will be arranged by Mr. Price, of 300 Finsbury 
Square, my lawyer.” 

“ Oh, I don’t like lawyers,” said the man, bluntly. 
“ My transactions with them have not always been pleas- 
ant. I would rather arrange direct with you.” 

“ Then I will write to you,” said Marion, “ if you 
will give your address.” 

“ Thank you, I would prefer to settle things at an 
interview. I am living in Highbury.” 

“ Why do you want to take this house in Clergy- 
street ? ” asked Marion, suddenly and sharply. 

James Linnegan did not reply immediately. 

“ Why do I want to take the house, Miss Jannaway? ” 
he said, at length. “ Why do people take houses except 
to live in them ? ” 

“ Well,” she answered, “ I cannot give you a reply 
yet. I am thinking of living there myself in about a 
week’s time, but if I should not do so, and should change 
my mind meanwhile, I will let you know. You can call 


My Name is Linnegan, James Linnegan 175 

at Morris-place, say, on Monday — if you are really in 
earnest about having the house.” 

“ I am more than in earnest — I am anxious to have 
it,” he said. “ I will not fail to call.” 

Then Marion left him. She looked back several times 
to see if he was following her, but he did not; and she 
walked quickly in the homewards to Morris-place, scold- 
ing herself for having made such a foolish mistake as to 
follow and speak to him, before she was able to give him 
into custody. 

And her heart grew very heavy as she thought of her 
lover and the part he had taken in the terrible scene at 
Clergy-street. 


CHAPTER XVII 


MARION SOLVES THE CIPHER 

It was six o’clock when Marion reached Morris-place. 
She let herself into the house, and as she went upstairs 
she felt some curiosity, not unmixed with anxiety, as to 
whether any further attempt had been made in her ab- 
sence to break into the house. 

She found her rooms were just as she had left them, 
however, and with a sigh of relief and weariness she 
threw herself into her easy chair. The excitement and 
strain and fatigue of the last two days had told heavily 
upon her strength, and she was very tired and worn out. 
But there was still a great real to be done, and she 
grudged herself even the first few moments of delicious 
restfulness. She must be up and doing. 

She took off her hat and jacket, lit the fire, and then 
put on the kettle to boil. She longed for a cup of tea. 
When she had had this, she was much refreshed, and 
then she went to her bedroom and had what she termed 
a “ good wash,” and came back to the sitting-room braced 
up and invigorated. She felt altogether different from 
the tired, weary girl who had crept slowly and rather 
fearsomely up the stairs only an hour before; and she 
was now ready again for work. 

The first thing to be done was to see Ralph Gething, 
176 


1 77 


Marion Solves the Cipher 

and get from him an explanation of his visit to Clergy- 
street. This troubled her exceedingly. She did not know 
how to form the questions that she must put to him, 
but the task had to be performed, however unpleasant it 
might be. She was not the girl to shirk it, though she 
would have given all that she was worth to have been 
able to escape from it. 

She knew her lover’s ordinary movements sufficiently 
well to be able to fix the time to catch him before he left 
home for his office. He left generally at a few minutes 
after eight o’clock, as he made a point of always being 
at the office punctually by nine; and he came down to 
breakfast at half-past-seven. In all these little matters 
he was as regular as a machine, as Mrs. Gething had 
often said. 

At half-past seven, therefore, Marion put on her hat, 
feeling very sad and anxious and nervous, and started. 
It required all the resolution she possessed to make her 
knock at the door of the Gethings’ house ; and even when 
she had knocked, she was half-inclined to run away. 

Mrs. Gething came to the door and uttered an ex- 
clamation of surprise when she saw the girl. 

“ Why, Marion, whatever is the matter ? ” she cried ; 
“ you look as pale as a ghost. Come in, do.” 

“ I want to see Ralph, Mrs. Gething,” answered 
Marion, quietly. 

“ Come in, child, do ; and don’t stand there in the cold. 
You look perished, and no wonder,” cried the good 
woman, who was very fond of Marion, and was dis- 
tressed by her looks. 

“ Will you tell Ralph, Mrs. Gething? I want to see 


i7« 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


him at once, and on a very important matter — very im- 
portant to me,” she added. 

“ You look a good deal more fit to go to bed, my 
dear,” replied Mrs. Gething, “ than to talk about impor- 
tant business.” And she put her arms round the girl 
and kissed her, as soon as she had closed the door. “ Why 
your lips are as cold as cold. Ralph isn’t at home, my 
dear; but come in and have some breakfast.” 

“ Not at home, Mrs. Gething,” said Marion, turning 
a little paler at the news. “ Where — where is he ? ” 

“ He went away on Saturday, somewhere ; I think he 
went out of town. He said he might have to go, but that 
he would write, and would be sure and be back to-day. I 
expected a letter this morning, rather ; but he doesn’t 
seem to have been able to write, for I fancy the postman 
has gone by. Come in, child.” 

“ No, thank you, Mrs. Gething, I must go. Do you 
think he’ll be at the office, to-day.” 

“ Oh, yes, my dear, he’s sure to be there. But I wish 
you’d come and just have a cup of tea; it might do you 
good,” said Mrs. Gething, trying to persuade the girl. 

“ No, thank you. I must see Ralph as soon as possible, 
and I’ll go down to the office and wait for him there. 
Tell him I called, and want to see him particularly, very 
particularly, will you? And ask him to come to me as 
soon as he comes in, supposing that is I miss him at 
the office.” 

Mrs. Gething promised to do this, and tried again to 
persuade Marion to have some breakfast. But the girl 
was firm, and went away, leaving Mrs. Gething perplexed 
and worried at her looks and unusual conduct. 


Marion Solves the Cipher 


179 


Marion left the house with a heavy heart at the news 
of Ralph’s absence, and the false story by which he had 
attempted to account for it at home. She went at once 
to the city with the intention of seeing him the moment 
he arrived. 

She reached Moorgate-street before nine o’clock and 
walked up and down opposite the large building in which 
was the office of Messrs. Quilter and Robinson, watching 
everyone who entered. The time passed wearily and 
slowly, and as nine o’clock approached she began to grow 
more anxious. She crossed the road and stood near to 
the door, scanning closely everyone who went in at the 
door. 

Nine o’clock was struck by half-a-dozen different 
clocks, but Ralph had not arrived, and, as she knew how 
much he prided himself on his punctuality, her uneasi- 
ness increased. The younger clerks began to arrive in 
a constantly increasing stream, and many curious looks 
were cast at the girl, as she stood close to the door, 
quietly observing all who went by. 

Ten o’clock struck, and still she had seen nothing of 
Ralph. Thinking she might have missed him she went 
into the office and asked for him. He had not arrived, 
would she wait, they asked her. She sat down in the 
office and waited for more than an hour. Then someone 
came to her and told her that perhaps he had gone on 
some business first, before coming to the office, as it was 
most unusual for him to be late, and if that was the case 
he might not arrive for some considerable time. 

The girl considered a moment, and then said she would 
not wait any longer, but would leave a letter for him. 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


1 80 

“ Dear One : I must see you immediately. I was at your 
house early this morning, and have waited here since 
nine o’clock. Come at once to Morris-place; or send 
me a telegram directly you get this, saying what time you 
can come to me. Marion.” 

When she had handed this to a clerk, to be given to 
Ralph the moment he arrived, she left the office to go 
home, feeling more sad and heart-broken than she had 
ever before felt. 

Apart from the keen desire which Marion had to be 
relieved from the suspense in regard to her lover’s con- 
nection with the mystery of her father’s death, the delay 
in getting from him the explanation debarred her from 
taking the prompt measures which she desired so earnestly 
to take, after her discoveries in Clergy-street ; and this 
part of the problem harassed and worried her on her 
way home. The wish to have James Linnegan arrested, 
thwarted as it was by her fear, that in doing so, she 
might be placing Ralph Gething in a position of peril, 
galled and jaded her. 

As soon as she reached Morris-place, these feelings 
increased tenfold. While she had been in the streets she 
had been in action, there had been something to do ; but 
now came a period of inaction, and to her active energetic 
nature this was almost unendurable. 

Feeling that she must do something, she remembered 
what she had almost forgotten in the excitement of the 
last few hours; the important discoveries she had made 
at Clergy-street about the secret of the cipher. 

She sat down eagerly to renew the work where it Had 
been interrupted. She laid all the papers before her 


Marion Solves the Cipher 


1 8 1 


on the table and compared them again. The work was 
one requiring great patience and concentration of thought, 
but the few results she was able to obtain after a time 
acted as a powerful incentive and she was soon deeply 
interested in the task. 

The clue which she had guessed at Clergy-street, was, 
that her father in composing the cipher had made use of 
the keyboard of the Hammond typewriter. On that ma- 
chine, there are in all thirty ordinary keys, each of which 
will print three different letters or signs, according as 
they are required. This is arranged by means of what 
are called the “ Master-Keys.” 

When one of these is depressed and an ordinary key 
is struck, it prints a capital letter; when the second of 
them is depressed, it prints a numeral or fraction, or 
some other sign. This latter is called the “ Figure ” 
master-key. Thus, for example the same ordinary key, 
which, when struck, will print a, will, if the first master- 
key be depressed, print A the capital ; or again, if the 
figure master-key be depressed, it will print the 
numeral 7. The next key to this will print e, or E, 
or 8; according as the master-keys, are, or are not, 
used. 

Marion’s discovery at Clergy-street was that her father 
in inventing the cipher had used only those figures, frac- 
tions, and signs which the machine prints when the sec- 
ond master-key is held down ; thus, it began : f “ <t 9 3 3 
9 ], &c., &c. And her guess was that these signs repre- 
sented the letters which would have been printed had the 
master-key not been held down. Thus, that f stood for 
v; “ for t; 1 for g; &c., &c. 


182 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


With this clue the girl set to work to interpret the 
cipher. The first signs were: 

t“i{*9339]8o£6”2t“3 

When she had interpreted these letters, the result dis- 
appointed her profoundly. The letters corresponding to 
the signs were: 

v t g p i c c i u e o k . hmvtc 

which was arrant nonsense, and as unintelligible as the 
signs themselves. 

For the moment this had dashed her hopes altogether, 
and plunged her back into hopeless confusion. But the 
more she looked at the cipher, the firmer was her belief 
that she was on the right track. A most minute examina- 
tion of the cipher showed her, moreover, that every one 
of the signs used — and many of them were peculiar — • 
could only have been produced if the figure master-key 
had been depressed; and, so far as the typewriter was 
concerned, could have been produced in no other way. 
Then she recalled what her father had said and written 
about her relying upon the typewriter in any difficulties. 
This revived her determination, and she went at the work 
with renewed confidence. 

The difficulty to be surmounted now was, she felt, the 
secret of the order of the letters. 

In this chance helped her to a most fortunate discovery. 
She opened her typewriter and, in copying out some of 
the signs, made a slip, an unusual thing for her, but 
usual enough with a learner. She did not press down 
one of the keys far enough and printed a 7 where she 


Marion Solves the Cipher 183 

intended to print 8. This suggested to her that her father 
might have purposely changed the order of the letters in 
this way, and that each letter was to be taken to indicate 
that which came immediately before it in the order of the 
keyboard, so that the cipher might be additionally diffi- 
cult. She tried this, but the result was just as unsatis- 
factory as before. Then she reversed the process ; and 
tried whether each letter was to indicate that which fol- 
lowed it on the keyboard, taking each section of the key- 
board by itself. On this plan she copied out the same 
letters as before: 

t “ 1 * 9 3 3 9 ] 8 o i 6 ” 2 f “ 3 
The result was as follows : — 

thmfollowingarcthe 

She studied these letters for a minute, and then cried 
out with joy. 

“ Hurrah ! ” she exclaimed, in her excitement, as she 
saw that the result showed four words with only three 
wrong letters — 

Th following ar th 

She was on the track now in reality. The only diffi- 
culty to be dealt with was that of the “ e.” How had he 
written this? She puzzled out a longer piece of the 
writing, and interpreted it as follows — 

“ Thm following arc thl particulars of my w’alth 
m'ntionad in my will.” ^ 

This was plain enough for a child to read, she thought ; 


184 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

but she determined not to rest until she had solved the 
difficulty of the “ e’s.” She then copied out ,the signs 
which her father had used for the “ e’s ” in that sen- 
tence; they were— 

123456. 

Then she understood it in a moment. Wherever he had 
wished to write “ e,” he had used the numerals in 
rotation. 

Her cheek flushed with excitement and her eyes glowed 
with pleasure at having triumphed over the difficulties as 
she copied out the whole of the cipher and wrote the 
meaning over each letter and sign, and she learnt the 
secret of the hidden wealth. 

When she had copied it all and interpreted it, this is 
what she read — 


To my child, Marion. 

The following are the particulars of my wealth 
t“i *9339] 6’’2 f“3 |6”t82[ 3 6”’ 9* ij ] 4 73+‘‘ 

mentioned in my will. I have hidden all because the 
i5of89o6£ 80 ii ]833 8 “6*7 “8££8o 633 f926[’i f“2 
death fear is upon me. I love my wealth, my jewels, my 
W *46” 8’ [J90 is 8 39*6 ii ]76 3 f‘ ii |8] 93 ’ ii 
darling diamonds, my treasured emeralds. I would have 
£6” 3 8oJ £86 1 90 £ i| f’i6’[”2£ 3i4 ,, 6 3 £’ 8 ] 9 [ 3 £ "6*5 
them with me after death if I could. I love them; 
t“6i ]8f“ 1 7 6^f8” £96 8 ^ 8 29 [3£ 8 39*1 f‘21 

I love the sight and touch of them; the joy of 
8 39*3 t“4 ’8J“f 6o£ f9[z“ 9^ f‘51 f“6 |9i gf 


Marion Solves the Cipher 


185 

possessing them ; of knowing them to be mine, mine, mine. 
•£9’ y ’8o£ f“8i 90 Jo9]8o^ f‘gi t9 f 1 1802 1803 1804 
Hours, days, weeks, months, years, I have spent in gaining 
“9[” ’ ] 5 6f 190+“ ’ i 7 t>” ’ 8 “6*8 '£90+ 80 £68o8o£ 

them, one by one, little by little; but it has been a 
t“n 902 fi 903 38ft 34 |i 38 ft 35 tit 8f “6’ I670 6 
labor of love; a love that could never tire. There 
36 § 9 [” 9 ^ 39*8 6 39*9 f“6f 2 9 [ 3 £ 01*2” f 8”3 t“ 4”5 
is no sight like their lovely, flashing sparkle and 
8’ 09 ’8£“t 38J6 f‘78” 39*83* 036’“8o£ ’£6^39 6o£ 
their sweet, shining lustre. 
t"i8” ’] 2 3 t w ‘8o8oi 3 [T 4 

First: there is gold buried in my room at Clergy 
08 ” ’f t"5”6 8’ £ 93 £ f[”8;£ 80 ij ”991 6f 238”** 
street, in the right hand comer, by the window ; 
T9if 80 f u 2 ”8£“f “6o£ 29”o3” fj f‘4 3 80^9] 
the third board from the wall will lift, and 

t“5 t“8”£ f 9 6”£ 0” 9 i f‘6 ]6 33 ]8 33 3 80 f 6o£ 

the hole will be seen directly. Anyone can find this, 
t “7 “938 ] 8 33 §9 ’120 £8”32f3i 60^904 260 (!8oi f‘8’ 
Anyone may. It will lead to his own detection; for 
60I905 16J 8f ]833 36 7 i f9 “8’ 9]o f7t32f890 <fg" 
with the gold are the seal and the fish ornaments, 

]8f“ t “9 493 ^ 6” 1 t“a ’363 6o£ f *4 ( 18 ’ “ 9”o6i 5 of 

which Marion can identify; and whoever has them — 
]“82“ i 6”890 260 8£6ot8ff 6o£ ]“97*8” “& f‘91 
there are none other like them in the world — is a 
t“i”2 6” 3 0904 9 t“S” 38J6 f‘71 80 f“8 ] 9 ” 3 i 8’ 6 
thief, a common, easily cheated thief, who will take 
f“89(! 6 291190 i6’83i 2“26f3£ f‘84^ ]“g 5833 f6|s 


1 86 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

the prize he finds to his hand and think he has all. 
f“6 4”8$7 “7 <fSo£’ t9 “8* “6o£ 6o£ t“8oJ “8 “ 6 ’ 633 
Curses on him : let him die, and hang out his tongue in 
2[”’9’ 90 “81 31 1 “81 £82 6o£ “60I 9[f “8’ f9oi[3 80 
useless anger at having clutched the shadow and missed 
[’435’ ’ 6oJ6” 6f “6*8oJ 23^^ f‘8 ’ “6£9] 6o£ 18’ ’g£ 
the substance. 
t"l ’trt6022 

The real treasure is really hidden. 

t“3 ”463 |”56T6 .8’ ’76331 M 8££8o 

Take out the middle bar of the grate in the room. 

|6J9 9 [f f‘i i8££ 3 2 |6” t“3 *”6+4 80 f‘5 ”991 

It is hollow, and the dirty resting-place of many 

8f 8’ “9339] 6o£ f‘6 £8»fi ”7't8oJ ^3628 9^ 160* 

dainty darlings — my diamonds and emeralds. I never 
£68ofJ £6”38oi’ ij £86i9o£’ 6 o£ 91 8 02*3” 
would have a fire — I never wanted one — I could get 

]9[3£ “6*4 6 $*8”5 8 06*7” ]6of8£ 909 8 29[3£ Jif 

warm by only going near the grate. 

]6”i f J 903I I980J 026” f‘3 4”6f4 
The carpet is filthy with age and dirt; but in the 
t“S a 6 ” 46 t 8’ f!83t“4 ]8f“ 6i 7 60 £ £8”f f[t8of‘8 

corner, by the cupboard, is a piece that will pay for 
2 9 ”o9” U f‘i 2[||96”£ 8’ 6 48223 t“6f ]8 33 |6| *9” 
unpicking. Draw out the wash-leather, which will be 
[0482480! £”6] 9 [f t“4 ]6’“356t“6” ]“82" ]8 33 f 7 
found where the carpet is doubled, and keep the 

]“8” 9 f‘i 26 ”* 2 t 8’ i 9 [$ 3 3 f 6o£ U 5 i t“6 

contents. 

2 9°t7°t’ 


Marion Solves the Cipher 


187 

The heavy iron safe may be searched by any thief: 
t“8 “96*i 8’ ’90 ’6ji i6± §2 ’36”2“4 £ f* 6oJ f‘85^ 
there is nothing valuable in it. Mind, however, not 
f‘6”7 8’ o9f‘8oi *63 [6f 38 80 8| i8o£ “9] 9*1” 09! 
to throw away the heavy zinc ink-stand — the dirty, 
t 9 t“” 9 ] 6 J 6 i t“ 2 “ 36 *i $802 80$ ’f 6o£ f" 4 £8”ti 
grimy thing on my table, which people always laughed 
i”8ii t“8oJ 90 ii f6§35 ]“82“ ^69^37 63] 6f 36[i“8£ 
at — it is worth its weight, and more than its weight, 
6f 8f 8’ ]9’T 8f’ ]98J‘ ( t 6o£ i 9 ”i f f 6 o 8 f ]28£“f 
by many times in gold. The dirty lumps in it are 
ti i6oi f8i3’ 80 i93i f“ 4 £8”fi 3 [if 80 8f 6”s 
emeralds, and will pay for washing. 

6 i 7 ” 63 i’ 6o£ ]8 33 m to” ]6’“8oi 

Search for a secret nook in the old bureau, where 
’86”2“ to” 6 V’lf °995 80 f“2 93^ f[”36[ ]“ 4 ”5 
you will find a tin case, the contents of which will 
i9[ ] 833 to o£ 6 f8o 26*6 f‘7 29of8ot’ 9^ ]“82“ 3833 
reward you for much labor. Remove the right claw 
”9\V'£ M to” I[2“ 36§9[” "119* 2 t"3 ”8J"t 236] 
on the front and look for a little recess; a very 
90 f‘4 f’9°t 6oi 399J ^9” 6 38ff35 ”627’ ’ 6 *8”j 
small ring will then lead you to the secret of the 
’1633 ”8o| ] 833 f‘90 3i6£ ig[ f9 t“ 2 ’3 2 ”4t 9f* t“S 
hidden stones. 

“8££6o ’f9o 7’ 

There are many dusty, dirty papers and parchments: 
t“8” 9 6”i i6oi i[*ti *8”ti 46J2” ’ 6o£ 46”2“i3of 
burn them, they are shams — but spare the large packet 
f["0 t“4i rsi 6”6 ’“61’ |[f ’*6 ”7 t“8 3 6”i9 


1 88 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

labeled Canceled. It lies on the top of all the 
3612333* 2 6o24335* 8f 387’ 90 f“8 9<t 633 f 9 

others, gathers all the dust, and looks the filthiest 
9 fV” i6t“2” ’ 633 t“ 3 £[’f 6o£ 399I’ f*4 ^3t“8 S ’t 
of them all. Ha, ha, it can bear with a bad reputation. 
9<* f‘61 633 “6 “6 8f 260 §76” ]8f“ 6 §6£ ”8^6+890 
Split the skins, and see why. In it are fifteen notes 
'fcSf t“9 W 6o£ ’12 ]“i 80 8f 6” 3 ^8^450 0916’ 
of five hundred pounds each. 

9 <* <*8*7 “[o £”S£ ig [o£ } 962“ 

Last of all, take heed that you do not light the 
36’t gi 633 f6Ji “23£ f‘6t i9 1 *9 °9t 38i“t t“4 
fire with my old walking stick. It would be a costly 

f*8”5 ]8f“ ii 93* ]63j8oi ’f82j 8f M3£ f6 6 29’t3i 

fire, and make you shudder with cold ever afterwards 
^”7 6o£ 16J8 \9[ '“[££9” ]8f‘ 2 93 i 1*2” 6^f3 ,, l 
at the thought of what you have done. It was never 
6t t“4 t“9[i“t 94 ]“6t M “6*5 *906 8f ]& 07*8” 
out of my sight for twenty years ; rarely out of my 
9lt 94 U ’8J“t 49” tl9°ti ii6’” ”6”2 3 i 9 [f 9 <t ii 
hand ; always within reach ; for I held in my hand five 
“6o£ 63] 6J’ ]8f‘8o ”362“ <*9” 8 “ 43 £ 80 ii “6o£ <*8*5 
thousand pounds worth of my darlings when I picked 
t“9[’6o£ lg[ol' ]9”t“ 94 U £6”38oJ’ ]“6o 8 \6z\yl 
it up. The crook is hollow ; and if you press it and 
8f [i t“8 2”99| 8’ “9339] 60 £ 84 ip[ f 9’ ’ 8f 6o£ 

turn it slightly to the left, and then raise it, you 
f[”o 8t W‘t3i t9 t“i 3 2 ^t 6 o £ f“3o ”68’4 8f \g[ 
will find the opening that will shew you the 
]833 480 £ f‘s 9J6080J f“6f ]833 ’“7] lg[ f“8 


Marion Solves the Cipher 


189 


little, long snakey bag, which is my best and biggest 
38 ft 39 39 °i ’o6JiJ ]“82“ 8’ ij f2’f 6o£ f8ii3’f 
darlings’ bed. 

£ 6 ” 38 oi’ f4i 

The only man who will ever guess at this is James 

t“5 9°3i 160 ]“g 3833 6*7’’ i[8' ’ 6 t t“8' 8’ §619’ 
Linnegan. Beware of him; he is dangerous, and to be 
38001^60 §2]6”3 9^ '‘81 “4 8’ £6 oJ5”9[’ 6o£ f9 t 6 

feared. 

t76”8£ 


Simeon Hoadley. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE SEARCH AT CLERGY-STREET 

Marion’s first sensation on reading the paper, and 
learning that her father had left her a fortune, was one 
of complete bewilderment. She scarcely believed that it 
could be true. She read the cipher over several times, 
and tried to think what it all meant to her. She was rich 
beyond her wildest dreams. 

She recalled how she had schemed and worked in the 
past, within the last few days indeed, to save even a few 
pounds with which to start the little typewriting business 
she had projected, and she remembered the pleasure it 
had given to dream of making two or three pounds a 
week. And now, here were thousands within her grasp. 

Her poor father ; how he must have scraped, and saved, 
and pinched, and hoarded, to make such a fortune — a 
fortune that had cost him his life ! Would it be fatal to 
her, she wondered. 

This led her off into vague, wild, happy dreams of her 
future life. She of all girls in the world to become sud- 
denly and unexpectedly wealthy; to know no more the 
trouble and anxiety of making money; to have to learn 
only how to spend it ! 

No wonder that Linnegan, if he knew of this, was 
eager and mad to find it ; that he had followed her father’s 
190 


The Search at Clergy-Street 1 9 1 

furniture in the wild desire of getting it; that he was 
anxious to rent the old house where it had so long been 
hidden. 

And this thought led to one that made her infinitely 
sad. ‘Had Ralph known of this? Was he searching for 
it when she saw him at Clergy-street? Had he known 
of this when her father was alive; and had he — but she 
shuddered, and would not let the further thought take 
shape in her mind. 

Was there a curse with the fortune? It had killed her 
father; was it to rob her of her lover? She had been 
poor in all save the wealth of her love for Ralph and his 
love for her? Was she now to be rich in all but that? 

These thoughts chased one another through her mind, 
and made her almost hysterical, first with pleasure and 
then with pain ; and she laid her head on her hands, and 
for the first time since her father’s death she shed tears 
from causes other than her grief and regret at the loss 
of him. 

Suddenly she started up from the table and dressed 
with feverish haste to go out. 

She might lose it all, even at the moment of learning 
of its existence; and she turned pale at the thought that 
all these things were lying in the house at Clergy-street, 
at the mercy of anyone who chose to enter the place, 
which was not even securely fastened. 

As she was putting on her hat, with deft but trembling 
fingers, she uttered a little cry and ran across the room 
to a corner in which her eyes caught sight of her father’s 
old walking-stick. She was almost too agitated to be able 
to understand the directions given in the cipher. It was 


192 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

a very thick staff of blackthorn, and the crook was dis- 
proportionately large, and very much knotted and 
gnarled. She tried for some time, without success, to 
open it, pressing it in all ways but the right one; and a 
sickening feeling of disappointment began to come over 
her, as she feared that the paper was not correct. 

Unexpectedly, she gave the right pressure, however, 
and then she saw the end of a dirty greasy piece of wash- 
leather. She pulled this out, and the length of it sur- 
prised her. She opened it with fingers that twitched and 
quivered with excitement, and then gave a half-gasp, 
half-cry of excessive wonder and admiration, as she 
caught sight of a number of magnificent brilliants of the 
purest lustre, which were roughly fastened to the leather. 

She carried them to the window, and gazed at them 
with positive rapture. 

Then a feverish impatience overcame her once more, 
to get to Clergy-street and find the rest of her fortune: 
and she wondered where she could put the stones for 
safety, forgetting that they had rested with perfect se- 
curity in the old stick for many days. She had begun 
to fear that other people might know the secret of their 
hiding-place, and she was afraid to trust them in it again. 
But she overcame this fear, and put them back in their 
resting-place; and then satisfied herself, by hiding the 
stick under the mattrass of her bed. This done, she left 
the house hurriedly. 

A cab was passing the end of the street and she jumped 
into it, telling the man to drive very fast to the Angel; 
and she sat with a beating heart and a nervous dread 
that she might even now be too late. She paid the man 


The Search at Clergy-Street 193 

liberally and walked as quickly as she could in the direc- 
tion of Clergy-street. 

When she reached the street, she reflected that it was 
extremely probable that she would be watched, and 
though this feeling made her now very much afraid, she 
so far controlled herself as to walk down the street at a 
leisurely pace. 

Anxious as she was to secure the jewels and money, 
she was, nevertheless, almost afraid to enter the house. 
She feared lest there might be someone already in it ; and 
she stood for a moment on the doorstep, irresolute ; unde- 
cided whether she ought not to fetch help. But she put 
the fear away, and opened the door and entered. Pur- 
posely, she made a considerable noise in opening the door, 
as she thought that if any one was in the house, the sound 
might frighten them out of it. 

She closed the door behind her, and then went boldly 
into what had been her father’s room. It was empty, 
and did not appear to have been disturbed in any w*ay 
since she had left the house in the morning. 

Her next act was to go to the back of the house and 
fasten the window by which an entry had been made on 
the previous night, and lock the door which led from the 
kitchen to the passage. 

The light outside was beginning to fade, and though 
the afternoon had been bright and sunny, the room was 
gloomy and sombre, owing to the thick, dirty blind that 
covered the window. 

She would not want too much light, she thought, and 
hoped to get through her task quickly. 

There were five hiding places she had to find — the bar 


194 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

of the grate, the inkstand, the double-fold of the carpet, 
the secret opening in the bureau, and the hole in the floor. 

She began the search immediately, and going to the 
fireplace, tried to wrench the bar of the grate away from 
it fastenings. She shook it, pressed it first one way and 
then another, lifted it, pushed it down, but could not do 
more than shake it very slightly; then, just as with the 
stick, she opened it by accident. She gave it a turn with- 
out thinking what she was doing, and it came away 
easily. It was hollow, and she pulled out of it a thin 
roll of wash-leather as long as the bar itself. She could 
feel the stones in this, and without staying to examine 
them, she shook the tube to satisfy herself that it was 
empty, and then replaced it roughly in the grate. The 
roll of stones she put away in a small hand-bag she had 
brought with her. 

The carpet had not been laid down, but was rolled up 
in a heap under the window. Marion did not know which 
of the corners had been by “ the cupboard,” as the cipher 
described, but she unrolled it as hastily as possible, and 
felt and examined each comer. One end of it had been 
doubled and sewn, as if the carpet had been too long for 
the room. The girl ripped up the seam, and found a place 
at one of the corners where a small patch had been clum- 
sily sewn on to the other side, and on getting this away, 
another washleather bag was brought to light. Marion 
took this, and then unripped the opposite corner, but find- 
ing nothing, rolled the carpet back again under the 
window. 

The inkstand had been placed in one of the drawers. 
It was a common zinc circular inkstand, with a large flat 


The Search at Clergy-Street 195 

bottom. She decided to take this away with her; and as 
it was too large to go in her bag, she beat the flat portion 
of it with the poker until she had bent it up round the 
well, when she was able to squeeze it into the bag. 

In searching for the parchment deed in which the bank 
notes were hidden, Marion was much puzzled. Several 
of the deeds were endorsed with the word “ canceled,” 
and she felt that she dared not give as much time as 
would be necessary to split the skins of all of them ; more- 
over she had no means at hand of doing this. She de- 
cided, therefore, to take away all the deeds that were thus 
endorsed ; and as there was no room for them in her bag, 
she resolved to wrap them round her body, an expedient 
that was comparatively easy, as she was wearing a very 
loosely-fitting dress. 

Then she turned to the bureau. She had worked so 
hard that she was by this time quite hot, while the filth 
and dust had made her exceedingly dirty. The bureau 
was an old, shabby, dingy-looking thing, and seemed al- 
most tumbling to pieces. At first she could not move the 
claw ornament, mentioned in the cipher, and as she was 
getting more and more anxious to leave the house, and 
her fear of disturbance was growing fast with the lapse 
of time and the increase in the number and value of her 
discoveries, she began to get impatient. Moreover, the 
light was fading fast, and she could only see with 
difficulty. 

She took the poker and with one or two very vigorous 
blows knocked off a part of the ornament; and then 
pulled, and pushed, and tugged, and twisted at the re- 
mainder until her fingers, which the work with the carpet 


196 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

had made sore, were scratched and bleeding, and her nails 
were broken. She could not find the place, however, and 
as she felt she dared not leave the bureau with such a 
clue as the broken bracket might afford, she grew desper- 
ate, and regardless of any noise she might make, she 
battered and split the wood with the violent blows with 
the poker. Presently she found traces of a curious wedge- 
shaped fastening, by which the ornament had been kept 
in its place, and she was able to get it all away. 

The hiding-place was so cunningly devised, however, 
that when she had done that there was nothing to be seen 
except a flat surface of wood ; tapping at this she thought 
she could detect a hollow sound, and she attacked this 
spot with sharp, hard blows with the end of the poker, 
and in a short time noticed with great satisfaction that 
the surface of the wood began to splinter. This encour- 
aged her greatly, and getting the point of the poker into 
one of the cracks, she worked it as a lever, and almost 
directly saw part of the end of the thin tin case mentioned. 
In another minute, she could see the whole of it ; it fitted 
into a deep slit, like a thin slab of wood, and stood on its 
side. There was a small ring in the end to enable it to 
be pulled out, and Marion breathed a sigh of relief as she 
caught hold of the ring and drew it toward her. 

Just as she did this, a loud knocking at the front door 
of the house made her start and turn round in alarm, and 
the case in her hand came open, and one or two of the 
stones fell on the floor. 

She searched for these hurriedly, placed them in the 
case, and put that into her hand-bag. Then she gathered 
the pieces of wood which she had knocked off the bureau, 


The Search at Clergy-Street 197 

and threw them up the chimney, and hung some paper 
over the part that she had damaged. 

She had finished her work; and was very hot and 
flushed with exertion ; but felt a glow of triumph at hav- 
ing succeeded. She grasped the bag firmly in her hand, 
and went to open the door. 

As she turned to do this, the knocking was repeated; 
and this time it was even louder and longer than before. 


CHAPTER XIX 


A RACE FOR WEALTH 

Marion hesitated before opening the door, and, for a 
moment, was undecided whether to do so, or to attempt 
to get away from the house in the same manner as she 
had left' it in the morning. But reflection convinced her 
that to do anything of the kind would be very unwise; 
for the reason, that if she were caught, she would un- 
doubtedly bring suspicion upon herself. 

She went to the door therefore boldly, and threw it 
wide open. To her relief, it was only Mrs. Bloxam. 

“ Oh, it’s you, Miss Jannaway, is it? ” said the woman, 
stepping into the house as soon as the door was opened, 
and staring hard at the flushed face and dusty and dirty 
appearance of the girl. “ I happened to be calling on a 
neighbor here, and they told me there was some one in 
the house, so I thought I had better come and see who 
it was. I was told you had put some furniture in the 
place again, and were coming here yourself after a bit, 
to live here.” 

“ Yes, I had an intention of doing that, Mrs. Bloxam,” 
answered Marion, standing in front of the woman to pre- 
vent her entering the house further, and keeping the door 
open. 

“ Well, I hope you’ve altered it then,” replied Mrs. 

198 


A Race For Wealth 


I 99 


Bloxam, rather insolently. “ I claim the home as mine, 
and my lawyer tells me that it is mine ; besides, you prom- 
ised it to me.” 

“ No, I did not promise it to you, Mrs. Bloxam,” an- 
swered Marion firmly. “ I said that I would consider the 
matter, and see what my solicitor said. I wish to do what 
is just, however, and I am willing that you should have 
it, for your life-time, for your own use. But I cannot 
give it to you altogether ; as my father wished me not to 
part with it. But you can live here if you like, providing 
that you pay a nominal sum for rent, — say, a shilling a 
year ; my solicitor tells me that is necessary.” 

” Thank you Miss Jannaway,” answered the woman 
with an oily servility, that contrasted strongly with her 
previous tone, “ May I stop now ? I have nowhere to 
sleep now.” 

“ I would rather you did not sleep here to-night,” an- 
swered Marion, as calmly as if she were discussing a 
matter of business, “ as I have one or two things — the safe 
and a few papers chiefly — that I am going to remove. 
The rest of the things I will leave here, if you wish ; and 
if you will go to Mr. Price and sign an agreement you 
can have possession to-morrow.” 

“ Thank you,” said the woman, again ; but now some 
suspicion appeared to have taken possession of her and 
she looked very closely at the girl’s dusty dress and dirty 
face and hands. “ You seem to have been routing the 
things about,” she said. 

“ Yes, I have a little. There was a paper I wanted to 
find,” said Marion, “ and I am sorry to say that the house 
seems to have been broken into, and more than one thing 


200 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


has been smashed. But I must go now,” she added, as 
a hint to the other to let her close the door. Mrs. Bloxam 
took no notice of the hint and stood quite still. 

It was getting dark very fast, and as a slight mist was 
beginning to gather, Marion was unwilling to remain in 
the place a moment longer than necessary, with so much 
valuable property in her possession. 

“ Would you mind my stopping now to put things a 
bit to rights?” asked Mrs. Bloxam. 

“ I should prefer your doing it to-morrow,” answered 
Marion. 

“ Ah, but I’d rather do it to-night,” was the reply, 
insolently spoken. “ You see the place ain’t safe to be 
left, if people can come breaking in at all hours of the 
day and night. They won’t break in if I’m here you may 
be sure enough. I’ll look after that.” 

“ Well, I have told you that you can have possession 
to-morrow,” said Marion. 

“ Then I’ll tell you that I mean to keep possession 
now,” returned Mrs. Bloxam, pushing her way past 
Marion as she spoke. 

Marion was not at all sorry, as this left the way clear 
for her to get into the street, without the other seeing 
the bag that she had held in her hand concealed by her 
dress. 

“ I cannot prevent you now, of course,” she said, turn- 
ing round as she went out of the door ; “ but if this con- 
duct should make me alter my intention you need not be 
surprised.” 

“ Oh, go away, and do your best or do your worst, for 
all I care,” answered Mrs. Bloxam, with a laugh. “ I’ve 


A Race For Wealth 


201 


got possession, and mean to keep it. I’m inside, and I 
shall stop in ; and you’re out, and can stop out,” and with 
these words she burst out laughing, and slammed the 
door in Marion’s face. 

The girl walked away at once, at a very quick pace, 
glad to have escaped without more difficulty. She looked 
sharply about her as she went rapidly along the street, 
but nothing occurred to cause her any uneasiness ; and 
as soon as she could see a cab, she hailed it, and was 
driven quickly away in the direction of Morris-place. 

When she reached home she found there a letter in 
pencil from Ralph. She had forgotten all about him in 
the excitement of finding the jewels. The letter was 
short. 

“ My Dearest — I came here to see you the moment I 
reached the office, and have waited an hour. I cannot 
wait a minute longer. I have to leave town to-night on 
business for the firm, and must get back now before the 
principal leaves the office. What is your fresh trouble? 
I am very anxious. I will write you immediately. I can 
give you an address. I am very anxious about you and 
other matters. Some day I will tell you all. It is very 
terrible, and a sad disgrace, if I cannot avert it;* and es- 
cape from it seems to grow more doubtful and difficult 
every day. I should have told you to-day, I think, if I 
could have seen you. God bless you, my dearest one. 
Your love is my greatest blessing, now and always. — 

Ralph/' 

Marion nearly cried with vexation and disappointment, 
as she read the letter, at having missed Ralph, and thus 


202 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


lost the opportunity of having all the mystery explained. 
And the letter, instead of helping to explain it, increased 
the confusion. Then she grew irritable and angry, for 
her nerves were giving way owing to want of rest, com- 
bined with the stress and strain of prolonged excitement 
and anxiety. 

She dashed the letter down on the table, and stamped 
her foot, and cried out that it was a shame of Ralph to 
leave her at such a critical time, forgetting, in her tem- 
per, that he could know nothing of the worry that was 
driving her nearly mad, and that he was but doing his 
duty for his employers. 

Her temper left her as suddenly as it had come, and 
the tears rushed into her eyes, and she picked up the letter 
and kissed it over and over again, in a passion of love. 
The man was very, very dear to her, and the knowledge 
that he was in trouble went to her heart and wounded 
her grievously. She longed to be able to go to him, and 
comfort him with kisses, and sympathy, and love, and 
show how true she was. 

The passion passed away soon, however, and she grew 
cool again, and then put away the letter, and set to work 
to examine the treasures she had brought from Clergy- 
street. 

First she took out the old, battered, dirty zinc ink- 
stand, and carrying it into her bedroom, washed it out 
very carefully in the hand-basin. In the china cup she 
found nothing; but in the interior of the large zinc well, 
she could feel a number of hard lumps of various sizes, 
embedded in the coagulated ink at the bottom. She moist- 
ened the whole of this with warm water, and when she 


A Race For Wealth 


203 


had washed it all out and had freed the little lumps from 
the ink with which they were densely coated, they turned 
out to be a number of exceedingly fine and beautiful 
emeralds; there were eleven of them in all, and even 
Marion, who knew little or nothing of the value of pre- 
cious stones, judged by their size and brilliance that they 
must be worth a large sum of money. 

She opened next the tin case; it was about an inch in 
thickness or a little less, and some six to eight inches in 
length by four or five in width. It was full of stones of 
different sizes ; diamonds and emeralds, all placed care- 
fully between layers of wash-leather. She took some of 
them out of the box and gazed at them closely and 
admiringly. 

While she was admiring them in this way, someone 
knocked at the front door; and before she went to see 
who it was, she put all the stones away, and hid the 
bag. Then she locked the door of her room, and went 
to open the front door. 

It was Mrs. Bloxam again. 

“ You’re a clever girl, ain’t you ? ” said the woman, as 
soon as she saw Marion. “ Perhaps, a bit too clever, you 
know.” 

“ What do you mean, and what do you want ? ” asked 
Marion, firmly and with some warmth. 

“You’ll know that before I leave, or my name isn’t 
Martha Bloxam. What have you been up to at Clergy- 
street, to-day, I should like to know ? ” 

“ I owe no account of my actions to you or to anyone 
else,” answered Marion, spiritedly. “ Please go away.” 

“ No, and I shan’t go away, neither,” answered Mrs. 


204 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

Bloxam, insolently ; she had been drinking. “ I shan’t 
go away, and what’s more, you won’t make me, so there. 
And it’s no sort of good your coming your hoity-toity 
over me.” 

“If you don’t go away, I shall have you removed by 
the police,” was Marion’s answer to this. 

“ Oh, no, you won’t,” replied the woman, with a laugh. 
“ Oh, no, you won’t. I’ve got no call to quarrel with you, 
don’t you see, unless, you force me to it. And it won’t 
pay you ; you know that very well. I know too much, so 
you’d better go square with me. I know a bit too much 
about your old father’s doings, you know ; a precious old 
father he was, too,” and she laughed again. 

“ I neither know or care what you know. I tell you 
again, if you don’t go away I will have you removed by 
the police,” said Marion. 

“ Do it. Do it, if you dare,” answered the other, put- 
ting her face close to Marion as she spoke. “ Do it, you 
young, ungrateful, good-for-nothing chit. Do it, I say. 
Here, perhaps you don’t know what this is and where it 
came from ; and how it was I came to find it on the floor 
after you’d left the house just now with all the rest of 
them,” and Mrs. Bloxam held out a small emerald in the 
palm of her hand as, she spoke. “ I suppose you dropped 
it while you were smashing the old writing desk, eh? 
Ha, you know now, don’t you?” she cried, seeing the 
girl start at her words. 

“If you have found that stone in Clergy-street it be- 
longs to me, and you had better give it to me. If you 
do not I shall charge you with stealing it,” said Marion, 
with much cool determination in her voice and manner. 


A Race For Wealth 


205 


“ Charge me with stealing?” exclaimed the woman in 
a loud, shrill voice of anger. “Charge me? You’d 
better, that s all. Then with a short, angry laugh — 
“ Tr y it. If either of us is a thief it’s not me, I can tell 
you; sneaking round into houses given to other people, 
and breaking open their furniture, and stealing property 
left by dead men to others. That’s what I call stealing, 
I do. But it won’t do you no good, so don’t you think it, 
my girl. I know a thing or two too much for you. So 
you’d better give up what don’t belong to you ; do you 
hear?” 

“ I am waiting for a constable,” said Marion, coolly. 

“ Then, I’ve a jolly good mind he should have some- 
thing to take me for. For two pins I’d scratch your eyes 
out, you young cat, and change that sneering self-satis- 
fied look on your face.” 

“ Ah ! ” cried Marion, gladly, as she saw Mr. Peters, 
the lodger, coming along the street. “ Now, Mrs. 
Bloxam, are you going, or must I hand you over to the 
police? Good evening, Mr. Peters. Will you stay here 
a moment? Now, are you going?” she said, sharply 
turning again to Mrs. Bloxam. 

The latter glared sullenly and angrily at Mr. Peters as 
he entered the house, and then threateningly at Marion. 

“You think you’ve won this time, don’t you?” she 
growled out, as she went away ; “ and that you’ve got 
everything nice and safe. But don’t you make too sure, 
that’s all. ’Tain’t always so easy to keep as it is to find.” 

Marion shut the door, and she explained to Mr. Peters 
that the woman had insulted her, and laughed at the inci- 
dent as if it was a trivial one. 


2o6 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

But she was frightened. She feared that Mrs. Bloxam 
guessed that she had brought away from Clergy-street 
all that was valuable, and for aught Marion knew the 
woman might be in league with plenty of men desperate 
enough to make a great fight for such a fortune as she 
had now in her possession. 

She dared not keep it in the house a single night — nay, 
even a few hours might bring some ruffians upon her. 

Yet where could she take it? 

Ralph was away. Mr. Price would have left his office 
by this time, and she did not know his private address. 
She might go to the police ; but such an act might result 
in many questions being asked which she did not wish 
to answer. She thought of Ezra Gibeon, but was afraid 
to trust so large an amount with him. Then she remem- 
bered Mr. Fawcett’s offer to be of assistance. Of course, 
the bank was the first place she ought to have thought of. 

How was she to take it ? She recognized that the ven- 
ture would be one of some danger if she were followed 
at once. She decided, consequently, to conceal the jewels 
about her person, and carry her handbag. She slipped 
off her dress, and with a few rapid stitches sewed the 
washleather cases in different parts of the lining. The 
tin case she put down her back inside her stays, and was 
about to start, when she remembered the large jewels in 
the old walking stick. She took out the long, slender 
washleather case, and tucked it neatly in the fold of the 
small turban hat she wore, and fastened it with a stitch 
or two. 

Then, as an extra precaution, she went upstairs to ask 
Mr. Peters to go with her; but the doors of the rooms 


A Race For Wealth 


20 7 


were shut and locked, and both he and his wife were out. 
Marion shuddered as she ran down the stairs at the 
thought that she was alone in the house, and she hastened 
to get out. 

The evening was cold and misty, and she could not see 
very far through the fog, though she cast searching 
glances in all directions. 

Whether anyone was following her or not she could 
not say, but she felt as if every step she took was being 
photographed, and as if all who passed were saying to 
themselves. 

“ That girl has many thousand pounds worth of jewels 
on her.” 

She tried to appear unconcerned, and to act as if she 
had only come out on some trivial cause. With this ob- 
ject she did not even take a cab, but waited for a tram- 
car. Directly after she had entered it, a man got in and 
sat down nearly opposite to her. She fancied immedi- 
ately, that he was watching her. 

Her eyes were attracted to his face, and there was 
something in his looks which seemed familiar to her. 
After a time, she saw it was the expression of the small 
closely set eyes. Though the man was wearing a pointed 
beard and moustache, she thought she could recognize 
James Linnegan; and this idea frightened her beyond 
measure. 

Presently, he bent across to speak to her, asking if the 
car was going to the Angel, and speaking with a foreign 
accent. 

“Yes,” said Marion. “You will be there in a few 
minutes,” and with that she rose and got out. 


208 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

She watched the car as far as possible when to her 
dismay, she saw the man get out immediately afterwards, 
and look in her direction. 

A cab was passing and she hailed it, and got in, telling 
the man to drive fast to the bank, giving him the address. 
It was a four-wheel cab with a horse that could go fast, 
and the driver whipped up the animal till they were 
traveling at a really quick speed, and Marion began to 
breathe a little more freely again. 

The cab went at a capital pace past Highbury Station, 
and Marion was glad to find that the man meant to keep 
to the main street. She felt safer when she knew plenty 
of people were about, although in the mist she could 
scarcely see the persons on the pavement. 

Suddenly, the cab stopped with a jerk that nearly 
threw the girl forward onto the front seat. She looked 
out in alarm for the cause, and found that a timber cart 
with long logs on it, was crossing the street. 

She sat down, feeling irritated at the interruption, and 
watched the cart as it moved slowly across the road. 

Then, just as the cab began to move on again, the door 
was quickly opened, and as quickly closed behind a man, 
who sprang into the cab by the side of the frightened 
girl. 

It was the man she had seen in the tramcar, and be- 
fore she could call out he had drawn a revolver, and held 
it against her head. 

“ Utter a sound,” he said, in a deep, gruff voice, which 
she recognized in an instant as that of James Linnegan, 
“ and I’ll let daylight into your head. I want those jewels 
that you have,” 



It was the man she had seen in the tramcar, and before she could call out 
he had drawn a revolver and held it against her head. 


Page 208 



» 



















































CHAPTER XX 


£30,000 

Marion was very frightened and felt more inclined to 
faint than ever before in her life. She sat quite still and 
fought against her faintness, and then said, without turn- 
ing her head. 

“ I will promise not to cry out, if you will take that 
pistol away,” and her lips and voice trembled as she said 
the words. 

“ If you utter a sound, I’ll shoot you, mind that,” said 
the man, as he lowered the revolver. “ Now give me 
those jewels.” 

“ No, I won’t,” said Marion, firmly. “ If you kill me, 
you won’t get them, because the noise of your shot will 
bring the police upon you.” 

“ You cunning devil,” growled the man, angrily. “ I 
will have them if I swing for it. Give them up, I say,” 
and as he spoke he laid his hand on the bag. 

In an instant the girl saw how she might deceive him. 

“ I will never give them up,” she cried, and clutched 
the bag with great appearance of resolution. 

“ Give them here,” growled the man, “ or by 

I’ll make you.” 

Then, as the cab drove rapidly through the misty 
street, a short, sharp, struggle took place between the 
209 


210 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


two, for the possession of the bag, which Marion only 
released after as much resistance as she thought would 
convince the man she was struggling in earnest to prevent 
his getting it. When, at length, she let him take it, she 
uttered a low moaning cry, as if of anguish, and sank 
back in the cab covering her face with both her hands, 
as though she were overcome with grief. 

She watched him between her fingers, and saw him try 
to open the bag. Fortunately it was locked, and as the 
cab was now in a narrow part of the street where its 
progress was slow and people might be easily attracted 
by any signs of disturbance, he did not stop to force away 
the fastenings of the bag; but opening the door of the 
cab on the off side, sprang out and disappeared in the 
mist. 

Marion closed the door carefully, overjoyed at having 
outwitted the man and thus escaped from so dangerous 
a situation. After the cab had gone another hundred 
yards or so, and they were passing a rank, she thought it 
would be safer to change cabs, lest the man should dis- 
cover that there was nothing worth having in the bag 
and come after her. She stopped the cabman, therefore, 
paid him well, and jumped instantly into a hansom, prom- 
ising the driver a double fare if he could put her at the 
bank door in five minutes. The man lashed his horse, 
and they started at a fast canter, just as Marion saw a 
man run up to the cab rank, and call loudly to the driver 
of the vehicle which she had just left. 

They rattled along at a great speed, and Marion’s 
spirits rose quickly as they neared the bank, but just as 
they were descending the hill in the St. John’s-street road. 


21 I 


Thirty Thousand Pounds 

the horse put his foot on a stone, and went down. The 
vehicle lurched dangerously, and Marion was tossed from 
one side to the other and then forwards, almost out of 
the cab. 

She recovered herself as quickly as possible, and 
jumped out of the cab telling the man to come on to the 
bank for his fare. Then she ran on as fast as she could, 
for the short distance that she was from the bank. 

She had gone scarcely twenty yards, however, when 
someone came up by her side, silently and swiftly, and 
seized her by the wrist. 

It was the man, Linnegan, again. 

“ You don’t trick me, again,” he said, in a thick, gruff 
voice. “ Just come with me ! ” 

“ Help ! ” cried Marion, instantly, in loud, lusty tones, 
glancing round in all directions. “ Help ! Help ! ” 

“ Hullo, what’s this ? ” cried two or three men, who 
came round in a moment. To Marion’s dismay they 
seemed to recognize Linnegan; and after he had said a 
few words to them, they closed round him and Marion, 
and began to sing and laugh very loudly, in order to 
drown Marion’s cries. 

“ If you are men, you will help me,” cried the girl, 
struggling violently with Linnegan, who held her as in a 
vice. The men laughed in response to the appeal, and 
they all began to move away together. 

This action made Marion thoroughly desperate, and 
with a sudden violent effort, she succeeded in breaking 
away from the man who held her, and dashed at a rapid 
pace in the direction of the bank. The men followed and 
soon overtook her, but not until the girl’s cries had at- 


212 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


tracted the attention of other people in the street. 
Amongst them to Marion’s intense relief, was a police- 
man, and at the sight of his helmet and uniform, the men 
left her, growling out many oaths in their disappointment 
and chagrin. 

She told the constable that an attempt had been made 
to rob her, and asked him to walk with her to the bank. 
He did this, and it was with a great feeling of gladness 
and thankfulness that she found herself safely inside the 
door of the bank manager’s house. 

Mr. Fawcett came to her at once, and led her into a 
room where his wife was sitting. Marion was quite ex- 
hausted and too much overcome to speak ; and they gave 
her some wine and let her remain quiet for awhile, until 
she had recovered sufficiently to be able to tell the story 
of the desperate attempts made to rob her, and of the 
exciting manner in which she had been chased and had 
escaped. 

Then she told of the discovery of her father’s jewels; 
how she had puzzled out the cipher by herself, owing to 
her knowledge of type-writing ; had gone to Clergy-street 
and found the jewels; and all that had happened during 
that most eventful day. 

Both her hearers listened with deepest interest, the 
bank manager particularly paying the greatest heed to 
the account of the splendor and value of the jewels. 
He entered heartily into the girl’s plans, and when she 
took the long, thin roll from her hat and showed him 
the magnificent brilliants, laying out the large stones on 
the table, he was profoundly moved. He was glad 
enough to have so rich a customer for the bank. 


213 


Thirty Thousand Pounds 

“ They are gorgeous stones,” he said, taking them up 
one by one, and scrutinising them minutely. “ And you 
say they are perfectly pure white, and without a flaw ? ” 

“ So far as I could judge,” answered Marion. 

“ Then each stone must be worth some hundreds of 
pounds,” was the reply. “ I am not an expert in such 
things and could not give precisely their full value, but 
I know something of them, and a stone this size ” — pick- 
ing up one of them — “ must be worth at least from five 
to seven hundred pounds. Where are the rest?” he 
asked. 

“ I have concealed them in my dress,” answered 
Marion, with a little blush. 

“ Good. You are as shrewd as brave, Miss Jannaway,” 
said Mr. Fawcett, smiling. “ If you will go with Mrs. 
Fawcett you can get them and bring them here and we 
will examine them all. Fanny, will you take Miss Janna- 
way to your room ? ” 

While they were away, the manager amused himself 
in speculating as to how old Simeon Hoadley had ac- 
cumulated such wealth — a matter that he thought would 
hardly pay for inquiry — and how much to his own ad- 
vantage to have the management of the investment of 
the money. If the girl was in any way right, there must 
be a good many thousands of pounds. Altogether the 
girl had really become axvery desirable acquaintance. 

The display of the jewels when Marion had laid them 
all out on the table, almost took Mr. Fawcett’s breath 
away. Not only were there many more stones than he 
had expected, but the size and quality of them astonished 
him. He took quite a pleasure in sorting them according 


214 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

to their different sizes, and while he was doing this he 
seemed almost fascinated by them. He went through 
them all carefully, weighed many of them, and estimated 
in a rough general way their value, jotting down the 
figures as he made the calculations. The total far ex- 
ceeded any sum that had been in Marion’s thoughts. 

“ If we are at all accurate in believing the stones pure 
and without flaws, the value is very great, Miss Janna- 
way, very great indeed. Of course you must understand 
that a flaw in a stone will cut away as much as nineteen- 
twentieths of its value; so will a tint in the case of a 
brilliant. I cannot see them sufficiently clearly by the 
gaslight to determine this. But if they are pure and 
flawless, there cannot be less than twenty thousand 
pounds worth of jewels lying on the table.” 

“ Good gracious me, Robert, is that so? ” cried his wife, 
while Marion could say nothing for the moment. Then 
she laid her hand on the parchment. 

“ There is something more here,” she said. “ There 
should be from seven to eight thousand pounds in bank 
notes.” 

“ What, in those dirty old papers ? ” cried Mrs. 
Fawcett. 

“ Yes in these dirty papers. It is a curious treas- 
ure house, isn’t it,” said Marion, smiling. And then she 
read the clause in the cipher which described the hiding 
of the notes. 

“ We must search for those at once,” said the bank 
manager, eagerly. “ But first let us do these stones up 
in a workman-like way. It ought to be a labor of love 
to make them comfortable,” he added, with a smile. 


Thirty Thousand Pounds 215 

Mr. Fawcett replaced them in the washleather bags, 
and made a list of the contents of each, putting down the 
number and character of the stones in the different bags, 
and calling Marion to notice everything that he did. 
Then he made a parcel of them all, and fastened it se- 
curely, and sealed it in several places. 

“ I will give you a receipt for the stones,” he said, 
“ and will place them in our strong room downstairs. 
They’ll be safe there and in very respectable company. 
Now, let us see about these notes.” 

“ They are in the largest and dirtiest packet,” said 
Marion. “ This is certainly the dirtiest,” she added, 
pointing to one that was almost black with dust and ink 
marks, “ and I should think the largest.” 

“ We can easily see about the size,” replied Mr. Faw- 
cett, “ by comparing them. I should think that is the 
deed. Oh, yes, look here where the skin is wrinkled, and 
the air has got between and caused some blisters. Ah, 
here at the edge are the signs where the two skins have 
been joined. We had better steam it or damp it, per- 
haps.” He rang and told the servant to bring some hot 
water, and, while she was gone for it, he tried to separate 
the skins with a sharp, thin knife. He was not successful 
with this, however, but found when he had thoroughly 
damped and steamed the skins, they came apart easily. 

They had guessed correctly the deed on which to oper- 
ate, and when the skins had been divided, the notes were 
found between. They lay in three rows, and at first it 
appeared as if there were only nine notes in all: but the 
notes lay two together, and had been carefully and clev- 
erly kept in position with the gummed edging of stamps, 


2l6 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


while between the rows the parchment had been fastened 
down with the gum, some very strong gum which had 
kept the edges together. 

When they counted the notes there were eighteen, not 
fifteen, as stated in the cipher; and as each was of the 
value of £500, the dirty old parchment had been worth 
no less than nine thousand pounds. 

Thus if the value of the jewels were correctly put at 
£20,000, Marion’s fortune with the £1,000 already in the 
bank, was £30,000, besides the two houses in Clergy- 
street and Morris-place. It was no wonder that the bank 
manager wished to be polite to her. 

“ You are nervous and worn out, Miss Jannaway,” 
he said, after he had given her the receipt for the money. 
“ Will you sleep here to-night? You may feel safer than 
in the house at Morris-place. 

“ I thank you very much ; I was going to ask you if 
you knew where I could sleep with safety,” said Marion. 
“ I think my nerves have had rather too severe a trial 
and I want a long rest, where I feel I shall be safe.” 

“ That is good,” answered Mr. Fawcett. “ You shall 
have such a rest here, if you like to stay a few days until 
your matters are a little more settled, we will do our 
best to make you comfortable. And now, Fanny, if you 
can get some supper at once, Miss Jannaway will be glad 
to go to bed very early, I am sure. Would you like to 
come down with me into the cellars and see where your 
fortune is going to stay for the night. You may make 
your mind easy now, however, as if anyone took it away 
to-night, we should be the losers and not you.” 

Though Marion was very jaded and worn out, the 


Thirty Thousand Pounds 


217 


sense of security revived her spirits, and she laughed and 
chatted pleasantly, as Mr. Fawcett explained the many 
and ingenious precautions taken to ensure safety for the 
contents of the strong rooms ; and when the three were at 
supper, both the manager and his wife were surprised at 
the girl’s conversation, and attracted by her truthful and 
ingenuous disposition. 

When she went to bed and was alone, some of the old 
uneasiness took possession of her again; and she found 
it difficult to realize that she and her fortune were both 
safe. Tired as she was, her sleep was at first broken and 
disturbed by dreams, suggested by the trying experiences 
of the last two days. More than once she started up, 
fancying she heard a noise of someone breaking into her 
room, and that the jewels had been stolen again; and in 
several of the dreams, she was chasing, or being chased 
by, either the man James Linnegan, or her lover Ralph 
Gething. 

But she slept very soundly at last, and awoke refreshed 
and invigorated, and with but one thought that troubled 
her seriously. 

Now that other matters were arranged, her mind went 
back with great force to the problem of her lover’s con- 
duct. There could be no happiness for her she felt, until 
that was explained. 


CHAPTER XXI 


THE ARREST OF LINNEGAN 

That morning it was definitely arranged that Marion 
should stay for a few days with Mr. and Mrs. Fawcett, 
and the girl was glad to be saved from the necessity of 
being so much alone. 

She did not, however, confide to either the manager or 
his wife the difficulties that embarrassed her in regard 
to all that she had seen at Clergy-street. She felt that 
until she had had an explanation with Ralph she must 
bear the burden of silence. 

She had now certain clues in her hands which ought 
to enable her to clear up the mystery concerning her 
father’s death, and she had no doubt that they would do 
so, as soon as she could tell everything to the police. 
Ralph’s absence at such a time made her uncomfortable 
and fretful, and her first act was to go to his house for 
some tidings of him. 

Mrs. Gething received her very kindly, and was glad 
to notice some improvement in her looks ; but she had 
nothing to tell which Marion did not already know. 

“ He came home in a great hurry yesterday afternoon, 
and told me he had been to Morris-place, but had missed 
you,” said Mrs. Gething, “ and asked me to put one or 
two things into a bag for him as he was going away on 

218 


The Arrest of Linnegan 


219 


business for the firm. I think he said it was a commis- 
sion to get some evidence, or something of that sort, but 
I’m not sure. Anyway, he didn’t tell me where he was 
going, but said he would write or wire me. I can’t make 
out what’s come to him lately,” added Mrs. Gething, in a 
troubled way, “ he has always been so regular. I’m sure 
I don’t know what it is,” and she sighed. 

“ Did he say where he had been since Saturday, Mrs. 
Gething ? ” asked Marion. 

“ No, my dear, that he didn’t ; and I was so flurried 
by his being in such haste that I never thought to ask 
him. He wasn’t in the house more than a few minutes 
altogether.” 

“ I have seen a change in him,” said Marion, thought- 
fully and rather sadly. She sat some time with Mrs. 
Gething, talking about Ralph, and when she rose to go, 
asked Mrs. Gething to be sure and let her know the mo- 
ment any news came from Ralph. 

They had been sitting in a room which Ralph used 
often as a kind of study, when he was at home in the 
evenings, and as Marion passed the fire-place something 
lying under a glass shade of a Parian figure, on the 
mantle-shelf, attracted her attention and made her turn 
pale and cold. 

It was a fish-shaped pencil-case, of mother-of-pearl, 
precisely similar to that which she had seen in her father’s 
possession. She stood still for a moment and rested her 
hand for a moment against the mantel to steady herself. 

“ That is — is a pretty thing, Mrs. Gething,” she said 
slowly and with difficulty. “ May I look at it ? ” Her 
voice trembled a little and sounded rather hoarse. 


220 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ That is Ralph’s ; at least it is now,” answered Mrs. 
Gething. “ We lost it a long time ago, and Ralph found 
it again quite recently — within the last few days indeed 
— and brought it home. You are right, it is a very pretty 
thing.” As she spoke she took it from under the shade 
and handed it to Marion. 

The girl took it without speaking, and held it to the 
light. Her hand was trembling very much as she turned 
it over to find the place where she had scratched her in- 
itials. They were there, just as she had scratched them 
on the tail of the fish ; and when she saw them she turned 
faint with an awful fear such as she had never before 
known. Her knees seemed to give way under her, and 
she had to sit down. 

“What’s the matter, my dear?” said Mrs. Gething, 
noticing the change in her companion’s looks. 

“ It’s nothing, Mrs. Gething, thank you, but I — I have 
had one or two touches of faintness lately. I shall be 
quite right in a moment.” Her voice was weak as she 
answered, and she laid the little ornament down on the 
table. 

“ Marion, it’s my opinion that you’re not at all well,” 
said Mrs. Gething, in a serious, motherly way. “ I no- 
ticed, yesterday morning, that you were pale and worn, 
and quite unlike yourself, and here you are to-day nearly 
fainting. I shall insist on your having a glass of wine 
or a little brandy,” and Mrs. Gething, not suspecting in 
the least what was the real cause of the change in Marion, 
hurried out of the room to get the wine. 

When she was gone, the girl picked up the ornament, 
and looked again at the damning evidence of the tiny 


The Arrest of Linnegan 


221 


letters— u M. J and then her hand fell listlessly on her 
lap, and she gazed vacantly out of the window, with a 
heavy, aching heart, wondering how Ralph had found, 
what her father himself, in the cipher, had said would 
“ lead to the detection of the thief and murderer.” 

The wine revived her sufficiently to enable her to as- 
sure Mrs. Gething that she was better. She wanted to 
be alone in the open air, and she walked for some distance 
through the streets fretting and worrying, and trying to 
think of some solution of this new and mysterious com- 
plication in the great puzzle. 

She could not prevent herself from giving way to some 
doubts of Ralph — doubts that nearly maddened her as 
she fought loyally, but vainly against them. 

After a time, she went round to Morris-place, and 
what she saw made her profoundly thankful that she had 
not slept there on the previous night. The house had 
been broken into, and, although neither Mr. Peters nor 
his wife had heard anything, Marion’s rooms had been 
thoroughly ransacked. Everything had been over-hauled, 
cupboards had been emptied, the contents of drawers 
turned out on to the floor; boxes broken open and their 
contents strewn about the place; the bedding had been 
ripped open, and even the flooring taken up in places. 
It was evident that a most determined search of the whole 
premises had been made; and Marion shuddered as she 
thought of all that might have happened to her, if she 
had remained in the house. She resolved then, that on 
no consideration would she live there again alone. 

After she had given notice of the robbery to the police, 
she went to Mr. Price, who listened to all she had to tell 


222 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

him with the greatest astonishment, mingled with admira- 
tion for the pluck and shrewdness which Marion had 
displayed throughout. But he agreed that the girl must 
not venture to live alone, at any rate for a time. 

“ It is evident, Miss Jannaway,” he said, “ that this 
Linnegan is a most determined and desperate man. 
Baffled as he has been by you, he is just the man to con- 
ceive a great hatred for you, and a desire for what he 
would think is revenge. Until he is in custody, therefore, 
you must take great precautions. I don’t mean to say 
that you are in any danger,” he said, thinking his former 
words might frighten Marion, “ but you must be cautious. 
I should avoid going out at night for a time, if I were 
you, certainly, when you are alone : and you must be very 
careful. Rich young ladies, you know,” he added, with 
a smile, “ owe it to others as well as to themselves to be 
careful. How would it be if you were to go out of Lon- 
don for a time? ” 

“ No, I cannot do that yet,” answered Marion, think- 
ing of the complication about Ralph Gething. “ Not, at 
any rate, until this man, Linnegan, has been captured.” 

“ That won’t be long now — not many days, you may 
depend,” replied the lawyer, “ seeing the new clues that 
you have. These two ornaments that are mentioned in 
the cipher ought by themselves to put the rope round his 
neck. You may depend upon it, he has them; and took 
them when that sum of gold was carried off from Clergy- 
street.” 

These words made Marion very uncomfortable. 

“ Do you think the possession of them would be taken 
as a proof of his guilt, then ? ” she asked. 


The Arrest of Linnegan 223 

“ Do I think the sun will rise to-morrow ? ” was the 
lawyer’s reply ; and Marion went cold at the words. 

“And what of Mrs. Bloxam?” she said rising. 

“ You may leave me to deal with her,” was the signifi- 
cant reply, as they shook hands, and Marion went away, 
the load of doubt weighing more heavily on her than 
ever. 

All the rest of that day and the next, she brooded con- 
stantly over Mr. Price’s opinion, and taxed her ingenuity 
to the utmost to find some plausible reason, consistent 
with entire innocence, for Ralph’s possession of the fish- 
pencil case. 

All she could hope was that her father had parted with 
ft before his death, and that Ralph had been able to buy 
it. But then, the words of the cipher were clear. The 
two ornaments had been intended by her father to lead 
to the detection of the man who should steal from him 
the gold with which they had been hidden ; and her own 
knowledge of Simeon Hoadley convinced her that it was 
most unlikely he would ever change such a plan without 
mentioning that he had done so. 

All she could do therefore, was to buoy herself up with 
as much hope as she could force herself to entertain, 
while she waited with ever-growing fretful impatience 
for her lover’s return. She went again in the evening to 
Morris-place and to Ralph’s house, to inquire for news 
of him. But there were no tidings of him on that or the 
following day, Wednesday; and this unaccountable and 
unusual conduct aggravated the suspense until it was 
nearly unbearable. 

Thinking that there would most certainly be news 


224 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


from him on the Thursday, she went in the morning to 
both places. At Morris-place there was a letter. 

She recognized Ralph’s handwriting, and tore open the 
envelope with feverish haste. The letter was quiet and 
disappointing. It was dated Chichester, Wednesday, and 
ran as follows — 

“ My Dearest — I did not write yesterday, as I ex- 
pected to be back in London ; but there has been a delay, 
and just at this moment, when I was expecting to get 
back, I have had a wire from the office to go on from here 
to Plymouth. From there it is not unlikely I may have to 
go as far as Truro or Penzance, even, and in that case 
can hardly hope to be in town again until Saturday, or 
perhaps even Monday. I cannot tell you how it troubles 
me to be away from you at such a time, but I hope and 
believe that the result of this journey will do me good 
with the firm, and in that event it will be for both of us 
an advantage. I have no time to write, and am uncertain 
where I may be ; but I may perhaps be able to get a letter 
if you address it to the Post Office, at Plymouth ; but 
even that is not certain, as I shall be there to-morrow by 
the time you get this, and may have to leave before there 
would be time for any letter from you to reach there. 
Try not to be impatient at the delay, though from the 
extent it distresses me, I know this must be hard. 
Good-bye. God bless you, my dearest. 

“ Your loving Ralph.” 

Marion read the letter very eagerly, and at the last 
affectionate vows a smile and a slight flush swept over 


The Arrest of Linnegan 225 

her face, and she pressed the paper to her lips and kissed 
it, somewhat impulsively. 

It was not the letter of a man who was keeping any 
bad secrets from her, she thought ; her great love for the 
man making her willing to be easily satisfied. The letter 
thus made the suspense less trying to bear, and strength- 
ened at once her trust in Ralph, and her hope and belief 
that he would easily explain everything. 

She would have liked to write to him, but it was no 
use to send a long letter, for it only to lie at the Plymouth 
Post Office. So she decided to telegraph. The thought 
of the expense of this — a survival from her old careful- 
ness — occurred to her, and she smiled to herself as she 
reflected that now she need no longer be &o careful in 
studying such expenses. 

Her telegram mentioned the extreme urgency for Ralph 
to return as soon as possible, hinted at the extraordinary 
discoveries made in his absence, urged him to write and 
gave him her present address at Mr. Fawcett’s. She left 
the telegraph office feeling lighter-hearted than she had 
been for some days; and her thoughts as she walked 
back to the bank along the Upper-street, were pleasant 
ones, about Ralph and their great mutual love. 

She loitered rather, looking in several of the shop win~ 
dows. She was just moving away from one of these 
when with profound astonishment she saw the man, 
James Linnegan, crossing the road a little way ahead of 
her. 

In a moment her anger rose that he should dare to 
walk about the streets in this open manner, as if he de- 
fied anyone to punish him for all he had done. 


226 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


Marion overtook him just as he had turned out of the 
main road and had walked a few paces up a small street. 
He heard her quick footsteps and turned. He stopped 
directly he saw who it was. 

“ Miss Jannaway,” he exclaimed, as if in some sur- 
prise. “ This is fortunate. I have tried to find you once 
or twice during the last few days, and have called at 
Morris-place, but each time I was told you were away.” 
He was very respectably dressed again, and his easy, 
self-possessed, rather nonchalant air increased the girl’s 
anger against him. 

“ You found me when you wanted me on Monday,” 
she answered pointedly. 

“ Excuse me, but our meeting was as accidental as 
this one ; or perhaps I should say, you followed me then 
as apparently you have followed me now,” he said coolly. 

“ I mean on Monday evening, when you followed me 
in the cab and afterwards in Clerkenwell,” returned 
Marion. “ I have a clearer recollection of our meetings 
than you.” 

“ I have never seen you in a cab in my life, and I have 
never seen you in Clerkenwell,” answered the man, in a 
bold, confident, unabashed manner. “ What is more, I 
was not near Clerkenwell on Monday ; no nearer than you 
saw me in the morning, that is,” he added firmly. 

“ I wonder you do not say you have never been in 
Clerkenwell in your life,” said Marion, angrily. “ It 
would be as true as what you have just said.” 

The man bowed. 

“ It is not of much use, perhaps, for me to tell you that 


227 


The Arrest of Linnegan 

you are completely mistaken. But may I ask why you 
take so keen an interest in my movements ? ” he asked. 

“Yes, because you are living a double life; because 
you have shown such a strong desire to rent the house 
in Clergy-street, where my father, Simeon Hoadley, lived 
and was murdered; because you have been to that house 
more than once since his death; because you have en- 
deavored to gain possession of the property he left be- 
hind him ; and because you have tried to rob me.” Marion 
spoke fast in her anger. “ You were in the house at 
Clergy-street on Sunday night, and on Monday night 
you tried to rob me in a cab within a few hundred yards 
of the very place where we stand. Is not that enough 
to make me take an interest in your movements ? ” The 
girl was very excited and her own words increased the 
warmth of her feelings. 

“ If it were all true, it would be; but, as before, you 
seem to be laboring under a complete delusion, and a 
wild one. It is scarcely necessary to notice charges of 
such a character,” said Linnegan, calmly, “ but if neces- 
sary, I could prove to you that I was not near the places 
you name on Monday night. The whole accusation is 
ridiculous.” 

“ Perhaps you will call it ridiculous to say that you are 
James Linnegan, a returned convict. Ah ! you turn pale 
at that, do you?” said Marion. “You shall have the 
opportunity of proving that you were not near the place 
on Monday night, and that you did not rob me of the 
bag; I will give you in custody for it,” said the girl, as 
she saw a policeman come to the corner of the street. 


228 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“You do not mean this, Miss Jannaway?” cried Lin- 
negan, excitedly, turning pale at the threat. 

“ I do, most certainly,” replied the girl, firmly, “ I am 
only too glad that I have found you,” and she called the 
policeman and gave the man in charge. 

“ You will be sorry for this,” was all he said, as he 
walked away in custody. 


CHAPTER XXII 


A TRAP 

Marion had decided upon the arrest of Linnegan, 
mainly, because the letter from Ralph had made her con- 
fident of the latter’s ability to give a perfectly satisfactory 
explanation of the circumstances, which seemed to con- 
nect him with the mystery. She thought, moreover, that 
if she were to charge Linnegan with the smaller offence 
of trying to rob her in the cab, she would in this way 
be able to prevent his escape, should he be wanted on 
the more serious charge; while if it were for any reason 
determined not to make that accusation, the smaller mab- 
ter could be dropped. 

But the girl had reckoned without knowing one most 
important fact. When Linnegan was searched at the 
police station, the curious seal, which had belonged to 
Simeon Hoadley, and had been mentioned in the cipher 
and was perfectly well-known to Marion, was found upon 
him. He was asked to account for the possession of it, 
and refused ; saying merely that he could do so, if neces- 
sary, and at the proper time ; but his confusion and agi- 
tation was so apparent, that no one could fail to notice it. 

He was taken, almost directly before a magistrate, 
and charged with robbery; but the inspector asked for a 
remand and intimated that in all probability a graver 
229 


230 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


charge would be preferred at the next hearing. A portion 
of Marion’s evidence was taken, enough to justify the 
magistrate in complying with the request, and the prisoner 
was remanded for a week. 

Press ingenuity completed what was thus begun; and 
the evening papers contained a more or less colored de- 
scription of the circumstance, with some hints that the 
man was Simeon Hoadley’s murderer. 

Marion herself was the object of much solicitude on the 
part of the press reporters; but she held her peace, and 
declined to say a word, and at length refused to speak to 
anyone, who could be even suspected of being a reporter. 

She was exceedingly annoyed that her hand should 
have been forced in this way ; and regretted having given 
Linnegan into custody before Ralph’s return ; and the 
worry and anxiety of the afternoon, destroyed the happier 
confidence of the morning and brought on afresh the old 
feeling of doubt and fear of consequences. 

The next morning, moreover, these feelings were in- 
tensified by a strange letter from her lover ; written evi- 
dently in a great haste, and apparently under the stress 
of strong emotion. 


“ Plymouth, Wednesday. 

“ My Dearest Marion. — What is this I see by the 
evening papers that you have done? I received your 
telegram when I went to the post for my business letters 
to-day; I shall address this to the bank, therefore. If I 
could have guessed for an instant that you contemplated 
such a rash act as this arrest of Linnegan, I would have 


A Trap 231 

come home to stop it, even if it had cost me my situation. 
What can have induced you to do anything of the kind? 
I myself am quite sure that James Linnegan has had 
nothing to do with this. In fact, I know it. Oh, why 
have I not been able to see you for so long? If I could 
have seen you, I could have made all this clear to you — as 
clear as it is to me. But now I dread to think of what 
the consequences may be to us. I have kept silent too 
long, but I dare not write what I want to tell you. I shall 
come back as soon as possible, but I dare not leave this 
business without completing it. I telegraphed, last night, 
when I read the news, to the office to ask leave to return 
at once ; but there is no one they can send to release me. 
Ah, my darling, you little know what it is you may 
have done ! But for God’s sake do nothing more until I 
am back, unless you wish me to stand by James Linne- 
gan’s side in the dock. Trust me. I can explain every- 
thing; but do not say a word to anyone of what sus- 
picions you may have about Linnegan. Do not speak to a 
soul about it. I know you love me, and will do this for 
my sake. I am nearly distracted, and my faith in your 
love for me alone sustains me — Your true lover, 

“ Ralph.” 

Marion read this wild letter carefully several times, but 
could make little or nothing of it. She could not under- 
stand it. The only conclusion that seemed clear was that 
in some way Ralph seemed to know James Linnegan, 
and said that he knew of his innocence. But then Ralph 
had not the knowledge which Marion herself had. How 
could Ralph be certain that Linnegan was innocent, when 


232 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


the two men, to her personal knowledge, did not even 
know one another by sight? Ralph had taken Linnegan 
for a detective when they had met in the Clergy-street 
house on the Sunday night, and as she recalled this fact, 
Marion felt utterly baffled and beaten. 

If Ralph did know that Linnegan had not killed her 
father, it must be either because he knew where Linne- 
gan was on the night of the murder — and this seemed im- 
possible in face of the fact that the two men did not even 
know each other by sight or because Ralph knew who had 
committed the crime. And at that dreadful thought 
Marion turned faint and sick with fear. 

She read his letter again with this thought uppermost 
in her mind, and tried to see to what interpretation 
such circumstances and ideas would lead. But she could 
get no farther with any explanation. Whatever view 
she took or sought to take, the letter seemed to contradict 
it. All Ralph’s words seemed to point to some connec- 
tion between Linnegan and himself. Moreover, there was 
the further damning fact that of the two trinkets which 
her father had purposely intended to aid the discovery 
of the thief, one was in Linnegan’s possession and the 
other in Ralph’s. It seemed clear, therefore, that they 
must know one another; and thus Marion kept wander- 
ing round a circle of thoughts, each of which only served 
to contradict or confuse the others. 

It was a relief to her, when a servant came and told 
her that a woman wished to speak to her, and Mrs. 
Bloxam was shown up. 

“Why do you come to me?” asked Marion, rather 
sternly. 


2 33 


A Trap 

“ To beg you to forgive me, Miss Jannaway,” an- 
swered Mrs. Bloxam, in a somewhat whining tone, 
“ and to ask you if I can be of any assistance to you 
with regard to this villain, Linnegan.” 

“ What kind of assistance do you mean ? ” 

“ I am willing to give evidence against him. I know 
him well, and I know his desperate character; and I 
know that he came to Clergy-street shortly before your 
poor father’s death, and that your father was always in 
great fear of him. I can prove this on oath.” 

“ Why do you come and tell me this, instead of going 
at once to the police.” 

“ Don’t be too hard on me, miss,” said Mrs. Bloxam, 
beginning to cry, and wiping her eyes with her shawl. 
“ Don’t have me turned out of Clergy-street, and I’ll 
do all I can to help you. I can go and identify him 
directly, and can swear to all I tell you.” 

“ I told you before, the conditions on which you could 
stop at Clergy-street,” replied Marion; “ and the return 
you made me was to follow me and accuse me of being 
a thief. The matter is now in Mr. Price’s hands, and I 
shall not interfere. You had your chance and you threw 
it away. I can do nothing for you.” 

“ Don’t have me turned on to the streets, Miss Janna- 
way — don’t do that, for the love of Heaven. I was a 
good servant and a faithful one to your old father; and 
all without payment or reward, except his promises to 
give me the house ; and he deceived me about that. Don’t 
turn me on to the streets ! ” and she cried bitterly as 
she pleaded. 

Marion’s heart was not difficult to touch, and though 


234 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

she disliked the woman, she could not bear to see her in 
such distress; moreover she felt that there was much 
truth in what Mrs. Bloxam said about the broken prom- 
ises. Her father had certainly deceived the woman 
grossly. 

“ I do not want to be hard upon you,” said Marion, 
“ or to do anything that is at all unfair. I certainly do 
not wish you to be turned into the streets, as you say; 
and if you will do as I requested about the house in 
Clergy-street, I will let you have it for so long as you 
do not put it to any improper use. 

Mrs. Bloxam thanked her with gushing effusiveness, 
almost 'going on to her knees, and wishing to take her 
hand and kiss it. Marion wrote a letter to Mr. Price, 
telling him what she had agreed to do, and gave it to 
Mrs. Bloxam to take to him. 

“ And what about Linnegan, miss ? ” 

The question was a very embarrassing one for Marion, 
in view of Ralph’s letter ; but she felt that she dared not 
even appear to wish to conceal any of the facts of the 
case. 

“ You had better go to the police, Mrs. Bloxam, and 
tell them what you have told me,” she replied. 

“ The police are fools,” answered the other, shortly. 
“If they weren’t fools, they might have put their hands 
on Linnegan days ago. I’ve known where he’s been living 
ever so long.” 

“Indeed,” said Marion, quickly, looking keenly and 
closely at her companion. “ Where was that? ” 

“ Why, right under their noses in Clergy-street — aye 
almost opposite to No. 50; where he could almost see 


A Trap 235 

everything that went on in the house from the very first,” 
answered the other. 

“ In Clergy-street,” said Marion, as if greatly sur- 
prised. “ How do you know this, and why have you 
not spoken of it before ? ” 

“ I was only waiting to see what these boobies would 
do; but I had my eye on him all the time; and if he’d 
shown any signs of bolting I should have come down 
on him sharp enough. I first knew it through seeing him 
go into the house disguised. But he couldn’t deceive me 
with all his disguises,” and the woman shook her head, 
in a confident, knowing way. 

“ Did the people in the house know who he was ? ” 
asked Marion. 

“ Not they, or else he’d have had a warm time of it, 
I can tell you. I’ve known them for a long while as 
decent, honest, working folk. But now I’m going to 
ask you a great favor, Miss Jannaway. Ylou know 
I served your father well for a number of years, and 
he never grumbled at me, and always allowed that I 
was a good servant to him. I should like to serve you 
the same, miss, if you think you’d care to have me. I 
can do anything in the way of house-work, and I should 
like to feel that you’d forgiven me for my silliness and 
anger the other day. I am really and truly sorry, I am 
indeed.” 

“ I have not made up my mind yet what I am going 
to do, or where I am going to live, so that I cannot give 
you any answer to such a request. But I thank you for 
the offer all the same,” answered Marion. 

“ I’m sorry you cannot do that, miss. I should like 


236 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

to have shown you that I wish to serve you. Is there 
anything I can do to prove this to you ! ” she asked. 

“ No, I think not, thank you, Mrs. Bloxam. But I 
shall be glad to know as much as you can tell me of 
these people with whom Linnegan has been living.” 

“ Would you like to see them, miss ? Shall I get the 
woman of the house to come and see you here? I’ve no 
doubt she’d come if I asked her; but I know she doesn’t 
want to have to give evidence if she can help it. She’s 
a decent body, and would tell you anything she knew ; 
though to be sure she has a rather crochetty temper and 
might not talk so freely to you out of her house as she 
would to me in it. But I can ask her if you wish it.” 

“ Has she told you whether this Linnegan had any 
friends or confederates come to see him? ” asked Marion, 
after a little consideration. She felt that she was in a 
very difficult position. She was very unwilling, after 
Ralph’s letter, to take any fresh steps or allow the police 
to get hold of any fresh information ; but she was at the 
same time very anxious to get as much information as 
possible. 

She was rather afraid that if she went so far as to 
have the woman brought to her at the bank, some notice 
of it might be taken : and she debated in her own mind 
whether it would not be wiser to go round and see the 
woman in her own house. As the man she had to fear 
was in jail, she had no cause for fear. Yet she hesitated, 
and for this reason put the further questions to Mrs. 
Bloxam. 

“ I can’t say I’ve questioned her very closely about 
that,” was the reply, “ but I’ve no doubt she could tell you 


23 7 


A Trap 

a great deal if she came round to see you. She’s a sharp, 
keen body enough, and knows her way about, right 
enough. Shall I fetch her round, miss. No doubt you’d 
be able to get her to go with us to the police.” 

“ Did you yourself ever see any one with him, Mrs. 
Bloxam, when he went to No. 50, or at any other time? ” 

“ Yes, I’ve seen one man with him, but I don’t know 
that I could describe him ; though, may be, I should know 
him again if I clapped eyes on him.” 

Marion then described the men by whom she had been 
surrounded when Linnegan had seized her in Clerken- 
well, and asked Mrs. Bloxam whether she had seen any 
of them with Linnegan. After a moment’s consideration 
she answered in the negative. She had never seen any- 
one at all like them. 

The girl next gave a description of Ralph Gething, 
and asked the same question. 

“ I fancy, somehow, I have,” said Mrs. Bloxam, “ or 
perhaps I have heard Mrs. Dunn — that’s the name where 
Linnegan lodged — speak of such a man, but she’d know.” 

Marion’s interest was now keenly roused, and after a 
pause of consideration, she said. 

“ Do you think Mrs. Dunn would mind my going to 
her house to ask her a few questions, Mrs. Bloxam ! ” 
She was not looking at the woman as she put the ques- 
tion, otherwise, the expression which showed on her com- 
panion’s face, would have made the girl pause. 

“ I don’t think she would,” said Mrs. Bloxam, looking 
down to keep her face out of sight. 

“ Then I think I’ll go round with you, now,” said 
Marion. 


238 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

On the way to Clergy-street, Marion told Mrs. Bloxam, 
that she could explain to Mrs. Dunn, that the questions 
were only put to gather information, and that the woman 
might not have to give evidence after all. 

When they reached the house — it was that which 
Marion had seen the man Linnegan enter — the door was 
opened almost as soon as Mrs. Bloxam knocked, and 
Marion rather shrank from entering, when she saw what 
kind of a woman Mrs. Dunn was; a stout, red-faced, 
hard-featured, repulsive-looking, dirty woman, very 
slatternly in her dress and appearance. She wore a large 
white apron, which might have been put on for the occa- 
sion, as its cleanliness made everything else look the 
dirtier by contrast. 

Mrs. Bloxam explained in a very few words what 
Marion wanted and who she was, and Mrs. Dunn asked 
her civilly to come in, saying she would tell her what she 
knew, and answer any questions. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Marion stepped in, and 
the door was immediately closed behind her. She was 
taken by the woman of the house into the back room, 
and to her surprise and alarm Mrs. Dunn locked the door 
and put the key in her pocket. 

“ Sit down, miss,” said the woman, as she herself sat 
down on a chair by the door. Her manner was quiet 
and almost deferential, but it seemed to Marion as if the 
other was playing a part. 

“ Why do you lock the door ? ” she asked. . 

“ Well, we can talk better when we ain’t afeard of no 
one interrupting us,” she answered. “ I didn’t much 
think as Mrs. Bloxam would be able to persuade you to 


A Trap 


2 39 


come; but as you are here, there’s a many things as we 
may want to talk about, and we don’t want no listeners,” 
and she looked cunningly at the girl as she spoke. 

Marion’s heart sank at the words, for she recognized 
that she had stepped into a carefully prepared trap. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


MARION IN DANGER 

During the short silence that followed the woman’s 
last words, Marion felt that her position was a very dan- 
gerous one, and that it would tax all her ingenuity, cour- 
age, and resource to prevent the consequences from being 
very serious. 

Instinctively she recognized that she must show as bold 
and determined a front as possible; and that any sign of 
weakness on her part would do no good, and would only 
tend to make matters worse. 

She resolved, therefore, to pretend not to think that 
there was wrongful intention on the other’s part, and to 
speak and act as she would have done in such a visit as 
she had intended this to be. 

“ I am much obliged to you, Mrs. Dunn, for your fore- 
thought in preventing our being interrupted,” she said, 
after a pause which had not been a long one, as Marion 
had very quickly resolved upon her course of action, 
“ though I don’t want you to do more than just answer 
one or two questions. But you must not think that good 
Mrs. Bloxam persuaded me to come; I volunteered to 
come to you because I thought you might not care to be 
troubled to leave your house at a busy time of the day.” 

“ Ah, well, so long -as you’re here it ain’t a matter of 
240 


Marion in Danger 


241 


much difference whether you come on your own will or 
not,” answered the woman. “ And there ain’t no doubt 
as you are here, is there ? ” 

“ Not the least,” said Marion, answering the other’s 
unpleasant meaning look with a cheerful smile. She felt 
that she had a more difficult part to play than ever before 
in her life. She continued in a light tone, “ But now we 
must get to business, for I’m afraid I can’t stay long, as 
I have to get back soon.” 

“ Have you ? ” returned the woman, calmly. “ It may 
take some time, though, to do all the talking we’ve got 
to do.” 

“ Well, we must be as quick aS we can, because I told 
Mr. Fawcett, when I said I was coming to see you, that 
I should not be very long.” 

The woman started at this thrust, and looked at the 
girl keenly, but Marion pretended not to see her. 

“ What I wanted to ask you, Mrs. Dunn,” she said, in 
a quiet, business-like, unconcerned tone, “ was, whether 
you could tell me anything of the movements or asso- 
ciates of the man, James Linnegan, who lodged here, and 
is now in the hands of the police? Mrs. Bloxam told me 
that she had known you for a long time, and that you 
had always been very particular about your lodgers ; and 
that the fact of this man turning out such a bad character 
had greatly annoyed you.” 

“ I don’t want to have no dealings with any matter as 
may make it necessary for me to go to court and give 
evidence. I ain’t a going to do it, and that’s flat.” 

She spoke with much less parade of civility than she 
had yet shown ; and Marion guessed rightly enough that 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


242 

the news of Mr. Fawcett knowing where she was had 
greatly disturbed her; and the girl wished with all her 
heart that she had really been wise enough to tell Mr. 
Fawcett. 

“ I don’t want you to give evidence unless you wish,” 
replied Marion ; “ but if you can make some suggestions 
to me, or give me any kind of clue that may lead to my 
finding out anything of importance, it will serve my pur- 
pose just as well; and you may depend upon it that you 
will be well paid for your trouble.” 

“ I ain’t no spy, nor informer; and don’t want no Flood- 
money, either,” returned the woman, warmly ; but it was 
clear enough that she was only fencing with the ques- 
tions, to get time to think, or for some other purpose. 

“ I did not wish to suggest that you should play the spy, 
Mrs. Dunn, nor take what you call blood-money. There 
is no thought of such a thing in my mind. I want the in- 
formation as much for my private purposes as for any- 
thing else. There is plenty of evidence against Linnegan 
without your speaking at all.” 

“ What is the evidence ? ” asked the woman, sharply. 

“ I am not at liberty to say ; but you may believe me 
when I tell you that there is plenty. I can tell you part 
of it. He is known to have threatened my father; to 
have been to the house shortly before the deed was done ; 
to have lived here, right opposite to No. 50; and certain 
property known to have been in my father’s possession 
at the time of his death has been found on him.” 

” What was that? ” 

“ There is no doubt that he took a large sum of money 


Marion in Danger 243 

away with him, and with it some articles that can be 
identified.” 

< Oh, that’s it, is it ! ” replied the woman, emphatically, 
“ The villain.” 

“ What I wish to know is, whether he had any con- 
federates in the matter, as I have some reason to believe,” 
and Marion described to her as she had before done to 
Mrs. Bloxam, first the men who had stopped her in 
Clerkenwell, and then Ralph Gething. 

“ I don’t know anything about it, but I think I’ve seen 
the young chap you mentioned last; but I ain’t very 
certain.” 

“ Ah, well, I see you do not know very much that is 
of importance to me,” said Marion, rising, “ so I think 
I will not detain you ; especially as I said I should be back 
by about this time, to lunch. Will you kindly open the 
door ? Dear me,” she added, taking out her watch, “ It’s 
later than I thought ; it’s nearly one o’clock.” 

“ I ain’t asked my questions yet,” said the woman 
making no attempt to rise from her chair. 

“ What questions do you wish to ask me.” 

“ First, I want to know whether you’re going to let 
the house over the road ? ” said Mrs. Dunn, after a pause, 
in which she appeared to be thinking how she could best 
frame the queries. Her manner was hesitating and 
confused. 

“ I have arranged for Mrs. Bloxam to have the house,” 
replied Marion readily, “ I arranged that to-day with 
her.” 

“ Oh,” was the short, sharp response. “ And what 


244 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


about the things as are in the place. Are you going to 
give ’em to her ? ” 

“ I have not thought about them,” answered Marion. 

“ They ain’t of much account now, are they? ” the wo- 
man accompanied this with a cunning sneer. 

“ I really don’t know their value,” replied Marion, as 
indifferently as she could, but full of wonder as to what 
was coming. 

“ I mean after you’ve picked ’em over and taken away 
everything that was worth having. Do you understand 
that?” 

“ The goods in the house now are the same that were 
removed from it — just the same,” declared Marion. 

“Yes, the same with a difference,” and Mrs. Dunn 
laughed again very unpleasantly. “ What did you take 
away when you were over there on Monday? That’s 
what I want to know,” and she looked angrily at the 
girl, as she put this last question. 

“ What I took away,” began Marion. 

“Yes, what you took away after you’d been in the 
house roking and poking about, and knocking the furni- 
ture to bits, and breaking here and there ; what you took 
away with you, that’s it; and while you’re about it, you 
may as well out with the rest of the story, and tell me 
how a lot of dirty tinned meat and biscuits come to be 
hidden in the house. Now you know what the questions 
are, and you’ve got to answer,” and the woman threw off 
all disguise, and looked threateningly at Marion. 

“ I know nothing of all this ; and what is more I will 
not allow you to put such questions to me. The house 


Marion in Danger 245 

and everything in it is mine ; and if I chose to go to it 
and chop everything up into firewood and bring it away 
a stick at a time, no one would have the right to prevent 
me.” 

“ Oh, rights be blowed ! who's talking about rights ? ” 
exclaimed the woman, with vehement coarseness. “ What 
did you do with them jewels that you carried away? You 
answer the question fair and square, and don't come any 
of your hoity-toity big talk over me.” 

“ Jewels ! ” cried Marion, with a laugh, “ I should 
think you must be mad to talk of such things in the same 
breath with a house like that across the road.” 

“ Should you, though? Well, I’m not mad at all; and 
what’s more I’m not su:h a fool as not to know quite 
well what I’m talking about. What did you do with 
them I say,” repeated the woman, in a very threatening 
manner. 

“If you know anything about the matter, you must 
know very well that the man Linnegan took away all that 
was of value, having found the secret hiding place under 
the floor. The police made this discovery directly after 
my father’s death.” Marion spoke very confidently, but 
her alarm was increasing very fast. 

“ Well, I know he didn’t, then, so that’s for you. And 
you’ve no call to be told how I know it, either. And if 
he did get something,” she continued in a confused but 
blustering way, as if the admission of her knowledge had 
slipped out unintentionally, “ if he did it wasn’t jewels. 
You got them you know you did; for you were in such 
a precious tear and flurry when Mrs. Bloxam came to the 


246 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

door, that you dropped some of ’em on the floor, and 
didn’t even stop to pick ’em up again. So, now, are you 
going to say where they are? You’d better.” 

“ Whatever few small trifles I may have found, are now 
in perfectly safe keeping, in the care of Mr. Fawcett, with 
whom I am living now, and who knows perfectly well 
where I am, and where to come and look for me.” 

The woman rose from her chair and stared maliciously 
and angrily at Marion. 

“ You hussy ! ” she said at length, her lips scarcely 
parting to let out the words. “ You deep, artful hussy. 
I don’t believe you. I believe you’ve got ’em on yer now ; 
and I’m blest if I ain’t got a good mind to see whether 
you have or not.” 

She was a powerful woman, though stout, and Marion 
looked at her, as if to estimate what the probable result 
would be if Mrs. Dunn were to attack her, as she seemed 
about to do. 

Marion was a strong girl — lithe, active and muscular 
— but scarcely a match for such an antagonist. She was, 
moreover, naturally wishful to avoid an encounter of the 
kind, if in any way it were possible. 

“ I have nothing whatever of any value upon me ; ex- 
cept my watch and chain, and a few shillings in my purse. 
I will give you these if you will allow me to leave the 
house.” 

“ I won’t,” answered the other shortly, “ so don’t you 
think it, my girl. You’re a deep ’un, you are ; but you’ll 
find others can be as deep as yourself. I want them 
jewels, and I mean having ’em, that’s flat.” 


Marion in Danger 


247 


“ I have no jewels/’ protested the girl. 

" I don’t believe you, so there,” answered Mrs. Dunn, 
who was working herself into a passion. 

“ You can do as you please about that,” said Marion, 
“ Tell me, however, how I can satisfy you.” 

“ By giving me the jewels and making an end of this 
fuss and bother; and you’d better be sharp about it, too, 
for I ain’t over good at bearing contradiction, and I’ve 
had pretty near enough from you already.” 

“ But I tell you I have no jewels about me,” said 
Marion. “ I can prove this to you by turning out my 
pockets.” 

“ Pockets ! ” cried the other, in reply, with a short laugh 
of disbelief. “ Do you think I’m such a fool as to sup- 
pose you’ve got ’em crammed in your pockets. I wonder 
you don’t tell me you ain’t got your handbag with you. 
I ain’t such a fool as some folks, and it won’t wash with 
me — so you’d best hand over, if you don’t want a row.” 

“ Well, I can’t do more than I have offered to do. 
Even if you don’t believe me, you might, at any rate, 
believe I should not be so foolish, if I had a number of 
jewels, as to come here with them.” 

T Ah, that’s a deal more like the truth — but then, you 
see, you didn’t know where you was coming to, and that 
makes the difference,” said the woman, with great 
cunning. 

“ If I didn’t know the kind of house, at least I had the 
prudence to tell my friends the address of it,” retorted 
Marion, keeping up an appearance of bold confidence. 

“ Then I’d better make haste and help myself,” replied 
the other. “ You’ve got them jewels hid away in your 


248 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

clothes, if you’ve got ’em about you at all, so you can 
take off your hat and let down that hair of yours, just 
to start the search.” 

“ I shall do nothing of the kind,” answered Marion 
firmly. 

“ Oh, won’t you ? we’ll soon see about that,” and with 
these words, she made a quick rush at the girl, and be- 
fore Marion could defend herself from the attack, seized 
her hat and tore it from her head. Then she drew back 
and examined it carefully; tearing out the small feather 
that was fastened in it, and stripping off the ribbons and 
scrutinizing them with the greatest care to see whether 
anything was concealed. She examined the hat itself, 
which was a felt one, in the same way. 

While she was doing this, Marion looked hurriedly 
round the room to see whether there was any chance of 
escape; and her heart fell as she recognized that there 
was none; and that unless she could get the key of the 
door from the woman, the prospect was a bad one. 

She eyed her assailant very narrowly, watching her 
every movement, and nerved herself up for what she 
knew would be a most severe struggle. Then, it occurred 
to her, that she would be much freer if she could get her 
jacket off, — it was a rather heavy imitation sealskin — 
and this suggested to her to try and out-wit the 
woman. 

“ I will do what you wish,” she said, as soon as the 
other had completed her examination of the hat, and had 
tossed it on to the little narrow dirty bed that lay in one 
comer of the room. “ I will let down my hair.” 

Marion had beautiful hair, long and thick, of a rich 


Marion in Danger 


249 


deep brown color, and she took out the hairpins as she 
spoke, and allowed it to fall over her neck and shoulders 
and down to her waist. She held her head back and 
shook out her hair. 

“ You can see there’s nothing there,” she said. 

“ I’d rather feel,” said the woman brusquely; and she 
went behind the girl and passed her coarse thick hands 
through it. 

“ I’ll take off my jacket, and you can examine that 
while I put up my hair,” said Marion, and she slipped 
off the jacket and gave it to the woman, and then bound 
up her hair very close to her head, and fastened it very 
securely and tightly with the hairpins. 

As she was doing this and looking at Mrs. Dunn, and 
casting glances all round the room, she saw a cloth or 
sheet of some kind lying loose on a chair close by her; 
and then a plan of action, desperate but not hopeless, 
came into her head. 

The woman was very intently occupied with the search, 
and stood now and then with her back partly turned to 
the girl, while the pocket in which Marion had seen her 
put the key, was open in the back of her dress. 

Taking advantage of one of these moments, Marion 
seized the loose sheet, and rushing suddenly upon the 
woman, threw it over her head, and at the same moment 
plunged a hand into the pocket and pulled out the key. 
Then she gave the woman a vigorous push on to the bed, 
and before her antagonist could clearly understand what 
had happened and extricate herself from the folds of the 
sheet, Marion unlocked the door and ran out into the 
passage. 


250 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ Hullo, hullo, what’s all this now ? ” cried a man’s 
voice, just as Marion neared the front door, and some 
one came quickly out of the front room, and seized her 
by the arm, and prevented her opening the door 


CHAPTER XXIV 


A RISKY STRATAGEM 

Marion cowered down in fear, and trembled in the 
man’s grasp. 

“ So she was one too many for yer, missus, was she,” 
said the man, addressing the woman who came out of 
the back room, and laughing loudly and coarsely. “ I 
tell yer, she’s about as deep as they’re made.” 

“You hussy! You cowardly, shameful hussy, to try 
and kill me from behind like that, and take me unawares. 
I’ll teach you to come your tricks with me, you baggage,” 
and the woman relieved her feelings, with a string of 
abuse and oaths, and seized the girl roughly and struck 
at her. 

“ No, no, missus, that ain’t right, the girl’s a plucky 
’un and yer mustn’t go to ’it ’er when I’m ’olden’ of ’er; 
but I’m ’anged if I wouldn’t like to see a bit of a set-to 
between yer both,” and the man laughed, as he put out 
his arm and kept the woman away from Marion. 

“ Ugh, you baggage, you,” she cried again. 

“ I only tried to get away, and I did not attempt to do 
you the least injury,” said Marion. 

“ Injury,” exclaimed the furious woman. “ ’Tain’t me 
as ’ull get injured, I can tell you, and that afore very 
long.” 


251 


252 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

“ ’Ere, yer’d best go back into the room agen,” said 
the man. “ What do yer mean to do now?” he added 
to Mrs. Dunn. 

“ You have conquered me,” said Marion, as calmly as 
she could speak, “ and now I’ll do whatever you wish. 
I am in your power, and you can force me, I know; but 
I will agree to any terms you name.” 

“ Blow me, but yer are a plucky ’un, and no mistake,” 
cried the man, with the admiration of courage natural to 
a brute. “ Yer made a blamed good fight while fightin’ 
paid; and, now, ye’re beat, yer know ’ow to cave in, 
proper. If yer’ll on’y act as square as yer talk, yer shan’t 
come to no ’arm.” 

The three then returned to the room at the back, the 
woman first, Marion next, and the man bringing up the 
rear. 

As soon as they were in the room, the man said, with 
another laugh at the woman : 

“ Seems I’d better act as doorkeeper, now, old woman 
— yer ain’t strong enough, nor artful enough for this 
job ; ” and the words angered the woman greatly. 

“ If you’ll let me leave the house,” said Marion, “ I 
will give you a hundred pounds and my promise to say 
nothing of what has passed here.” 

“ Fork it out, then,” was the man’s reply, and he held 
out his hand. 

“ I haven’t it with me.” 

“Oh, I see, that’s the game, is it? Yer’ll send it by 
post, I s’pose with the compliments o’ the p’lice. No, 
thank yer — not fur this child.” 


A Risky Stratagem 253 

“ No, 1 wil1 give it into the hands of anyone you like 
to mention, and not a soul shall know why I paid it.” 

“ Much obliged to yer,” answered the man with an- 
other grin, wagging his head from side to side. “ The 
on’y ’ands I trust, are this pair,” and he held them out 
in front of him. 

“ Then I’ll give it to you yourself.” 

“ Yes, with Mr. Blooming Detective waitin’ round the 
corner. You’re a clever young woman an’ a plucky ’un, 
too, I don’t doubt ; but we ain’t all of us as green as the 
old woman here, to have a sheet flung over our eyes,” 
and the man laughed again. He seemed on the whole 
to be a rather good-tempered scoundrel, and to be much 
pleased at being able to turn the laugh so easily against 
the woman. “ If yer want to give me a ’undred pounds, 
yer must give it to me ’ere in this ’ouse; and ’ow you 
mean to do that is your business, not mine.” 

“ I don’t see what I am to do, then,” said Marion, 
“ except to resign myself to what you may choose to do 
to me until my friends send to inquire after me.” 

“ What’s that ? ” asked the man, looking across at the 
girl while an angry scowl showed on his face. 

“ My friends know where I have come, they will be 
expecting me to return before long; and if I do not re- 
turn, they will send to look for me. If, therefore, you 
won’t agree to release me on the terms I have oflfered, 
there is nothing for me but to wait until they send or 
come here. I told Mrs. Dunn this, some time ago.” 

“ Why didn’t yer tell me afore, yer fool,” said the 
man to the woman, very angrily. 


2 54 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ ’Cause I didn’t believe it,” answered the woman, sul- 
lenly. “ She’s got them jewels on her now, that’s why 
she’s lying, and that’s why she took off her jacket and 
made a rush to get out just now.” 

“ Don’t be a fool, woman. Who is it knows where 
yer’ve come to ? ” he said, after a minute’s consideration, 
turning to Marion. 

“ The friends with whom I am living,” was the reply. 

“ Jest wait a minute,” said the man, and he went out 
of the room. “ Look arter ’er missus, and don’t let ’er 
make a fool of yer agen, else yer’ll know of it,” he said, 
meaningly. 

“ She’d better try it on,” was the woman’s angry 
answer. 

Marion made no attempt to escape in the man’s ab- 
sence, but sat quite still. She knew that the only motive 
the people could have for detaining her was greed, and 
she resolved to buy her liberty, using the statement about 
the Fawcetts’ knowing where she had come, as a lever to 
drive as easy a bargain as possible. 

Presently she heard the man’s heavy footstep descend- 
ing the staircase, and she glanced at his face as he en- 
tered. There was not a sign on it of anything but ill- 
temper and uneasiness. 

“Wot about that money?” he said. “ ’Ow are yer 
goin’ to get it ’ere? Yer can’t leave the ’ouse without it.” 

Marion reflected for a minute. 

“ Have you anyone you can send to get it? I will try 
and have it sent to me here in that case,” she said. 

“ Yes, we’ll find somebody for that job,” answered the 
man. 


A Risky Stratagem 255 

“ Give me a pen, and ink, and some paper, and I will 
write a note.” 

There was nothing of the kind in the house, and 
Marion gave the woman a shilling to go and fetch some. 

While she was away the girl sat thinking intently. 
An idea had occurred to her that made her hopeful of 
being able to let Mr. Fawcett know the danger in which 
she was placed, even in the very letter she was going to 
write about the money she was to send for. She had 
explained to him the principle of the cipher which her 
father had used, and she thought that if she were to put 
in the letter a warning word in cipher, he would be 
shrewd enough to understand it, and to send her help. 

She racked her brains to think what short word would 
best serve as a signal, and how she could explain the 
fact of her using it to the people about her. 

“ Are yer sure your friends know where ye are? ” said 
the man suddenly, to her, as she sat down to write the 
note. “ Don’t yer play no pranks wi’ me, yer know. I 
ain’t made in a way as lets a body do that safely wi’ me,” 
and he looked very threateningly at Marion as he spoke. 

“ Yes, I am sure,” answered Marion, telling the un- 
truth, though not without qualms of conscience. 

“ Then yer can jest write in this ’ere letter as yer’ve 
changed yer mind and won’t be back for a while d’ye 
see?” 

Marion made a great show of resistance at this, and at 
first flatly refused; but after a while she reflected that 
as she had not told Mr. Fawcett anything of her move- 
ments, she could arouse his suspicions more easily by do- 
ing what the man asked. She resolved to head the letter 


256 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

with the words “ In danger/’ and to pretend that the 
cipher for this was the number of a particular account 
from which the money had to come. 

She wrote, therefore, as follows : — 

“ Dear Mr. Fawcett, 

8o£6oi7” 

“ Will you please let me have by bearer the sum of one 
hundred pounds (£100) in gold, on the above account. 

“ I find I am compelled to alter my plans. I told you 
this morning that I was coming to number 31 Clergy- 
street, to look up particulars of the man Linnegan’s cir- 
cumstances. I have decided not to do this to-day, and 
the business I have in hand is likely, I think, to prevent 
my returning to you for some while. Do not be uneasy ; 
and please do not fail to send the money as I need it 
particularly. — Yours faithfully, 

Marion Jannaway.” 

“ What’s them figures at the top? ” said the man, lay- 
ing his heavy finger on the line of cipher, and looking 
down at Marion suspiciously and threateningly. “ I ain’t 
goin’ to have nothin' in the letter as I don’t understand. 

If yer try to trick me, by , I’ll slit that throat of your’n 

as soon as look at yer.” 

“ That’s the number of the account from which the 
money has to come,” answered the girl, as calmly as she 
could. “ It’s the sign of a particular account from which, 
by arrangement with Mr. Fawcett, I never draw money 
without putting this number.” 


A Risky Stratagem 257 

“ Then I ain’t goin’ to ’ave any private marks, I can 
tell yer,” said the man, roughly. 

“Very good, then I can’t get you the money. There 
are only a few pounds on the ordinary account,” Marion 
felt that this was a crisis and that everything would turn 
upon the result of the conversation, and that she was 
telling these falsehoods to save her life. 

The man growled and grumbled and swore, and 
threatened the girl, but gave way at last. 

“ Yer must send a check with this, else yer won’t get 
no money. Yer won’t get no ’undred pounds for a letter,” 
he said. 

“ You are right ; it may make matters easier,” she as- 
sented. She was so pleased at her success in tricking 
the man, that she had difficulty in hiding her exultation. 
In grumbling over the cipher, the man had forgotten to 
object to the wording of the letter, where Marion had 
cunningly contrived to give even the address of the house. 

She drew a check on a blank sheet of paper. 

London, Dec. 12, 188 — 
To the Capital Bank, Clerkenwell branch. 

Pay self, or order, the sum of one hundred 

pounds, on account of 8o£6oj7” 

£100. Marion Jannaway. 

This she signed at the back, and handed check, letter 
and envelope to the man for him to fasten up. 

He took them, and read both the letter and the check, 
the woman looking over his shoulder the while ; and then 
he left the room to send to the bank. Marion did not 
know who was to be the messenger, but guessed that 


258 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

probably Mrs. Bloxam would be sent. She felt much’ 
more at ease than she had been before despatching the 
letter, and assured herself that as soon as Mr. Fawcett 
had read the letter, his suspicions would be aroused, and, 
knowing, as he did, of the attempts that had been made 
to rob her, he would be on the alert to interpret the cipher 
words she had sent. 

The time dragged on wearily while the girl waited for 
the return of the messenger. The woman was with her, 
but did not speak, contenting herself with sitting on a 
chair close to the door, with her face turned toward 
Marion. It was evident that she did not intend to give 
the girl another chance of taking her by surprise. 

Marion listened eagerly to every sound in the house, 
and after waiting between half-an-hour and an hour, 
heard the front door opened and someone enter. Soon 
afterwards the man came rather hurriedly and excitedly 
into the back room. 

“ It’s lucky for yer it’s all right,” he said ; “ ’ere’s the 
quids, missus,” he added, holding up a little bag of gold, 
and laughing; “and ’ere’s the letter. You can ’ave that; 
I’ve read it, and there ain’t much in it.” 

Marion read the letter hurriedly. 

“ Dear Miss Jannaway, — I send money by bearer, as 
requested, and note what you say as to delay in return. 
Shall expect you when we see you. — Yours faithfully, 

Robert Fawcett.” 

As soon as she had read it, Marion rose and went to 
put on her hat, which lay on the bed in a very damaged 
state. 


2 59 


A Risky Stratagem 

“ Wot are yer doin’ ? ” growled the man. 

“ I am going,” answered Marion, quietly. “ You have 
the money which I agreed to give you, and for which you 
agreed to let me go. Our bargain is complete.” 

The man burst into an uproarious laugh. 

“ That’s a good ’un, an’ no mistake, I’m gormed ! 
Wot? Do you think I’m sech a bloomin’ fool as to let a 
nice, kind gal like you, as can lay golden eggs to the 
tune of a ’undred pounds a piece, slip out ’o my clutches. 
Not me — I ain’t made that way quite,” and the ruffian 
burst out laughing again. 

“ What do you intend to do with me, then ? ” asked 
Marion. 

“ I intend to keep yer ’ere, and no bloomin’ mistake,” 
answered the man, rolling out the words with great em- 
phasis and enjoyment, and laughing as he spoke. “ ’Tain’t 
often as I picks up wi’ a dainty little thing like you, wot 
can turn on a tap and let it run quidses whenever yer 
likes. Ye’re the sort o’ gal I likes; and jest to show as 
there ain’t no ill-feelin’ in my ’eart toward yer, I’ll drink 
your ’ealth out o’ your own money. Yer’ll be wantin’ 
something yerself, too, seein’ as yer friends don’t expect 
yer now. But it’s a rich ’un ! ” he said, with an oath, and 
a heavy hoarse laugh. “ ’Ere missus, go and get some 
booze,” and the man tossed a sovereign to the woman, 
and shouted after her as she left the room, “ Good stuff, 
mind, none o’yer thin swipey muck for me ; we’ve got to 
drink the young lady’s health, yer know,” and again he 
laughed coarsely and loudly, and shouted again as an 
afterthought, “ and look ’ere, bring some smokes wi’ yer ; 
the lady won’t fancy my bacca.” 


26 o 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


While Mrs. Dunn was gone for the drink, the man 
began to show the good humor he was in, in a somewhat 
demonstrative way. He told Marion that he liked her 
“ for a plucky ’un; ” that he “ ’had a mind jest to give 
a kiss, while the old woman was out of the way ; ” that 
she was lucky to have come under his care; and as he 
talked in this way, he laid his hand on her shoulder and 
then shook her hand, and frightened the girl by these and 
other acts of the same kind. She bore everything in 
silence, though the disgust she felt at the brute’s conduct 
kindled an inward fire of resentment and rage. 

When the drink came, the man turned to that like a 
thirsty horse, and drank glass after glass of beer and 
spirits indiscriminately, with great rapidity and apparent 
delight, while he puffed at the cigars, until the room was 
cloudy with rank smoke. 

The woman also drank, and they both tried to persuade 
Marion to take some spirits ; but she refused. 

“ Did yer take any upstairs ? ” asked the man after a 
time, the drink beginning to take effect, so far as to set 
him talking with less reserve. 

“ Yes, they’re all right.” 

“Yer’d better drink something little lady,” said the 
man, using this title to the girl half in ridicule, half in 
earnest. “ Yer may want somethin’ yet awhile to keep up 
that pluck o’ yourn,” he said, meaningly. 

“ I don’t want any drink,” said Marion. “ All I want 
is to go away.* Are there no conditions on which you will 
consent to let me go away? ” 

“ No, I don’t know as there are. I like yer pluck, and 
I like yer looks, an’ it soots me to ’ave yer ’ere, if it’s 


He “had a mind, just to give a kiss when the old woman was out of 

the way.” 

c 



Page 260 



































































































































I 





















A Risky Stratagem 


261 

only to look at yer, an’ to feel that if I likes to ’old up 
my finger and order yer, d’ye see, and order yer,” he 
repeated, with an emphasis which was the result of the 
drink he had had, “ yer can put them little fingers o’ 
your’n to work, and jest roll in another ’undred quid. 
That’s why I want yer to stay.” 

“ Will you never let me go, do you mean? You can’t 
hope to keep me here without being found out.” 

“ Oh, can’t I,” he replied, rolling his eyes on her. 
“Can’t I? Well then I can try, and that’s enough for 
me. Anyway, I can keep yer as long as I want yer, and 
that’ll be till yerv’e done wot yer ’ave to do.” 

“ What’s that ? Let me do it at once and go,” said the 
girl, whose fear of ill consequences rose rapidly as she 
saw the effect of the drink in the man. 

“ Well, I’ll tell yer wot it is. Yer can go away just as 
soon as ever all them jewels and money which Linnegan 
and Bloxam have told me yer took away from No. 50 
oppersite is in my possession. D’yer understand that? 
When they’re in my ’ands,” and he held out his hands 
towards the girl and shook them. “ Now, d’yer under- 
stand? I mean ’avin’ every shillin’ and every stone, and 
when I’ve got ’em yer can go, and not till then. And if 
I don’t get ’em why I’ll choke that white wizen o’ your’n, 
that’s all ; ” and he put his great fingers and thumb to his 
own throat as he said this, and looked threateningly at 
Marion, and then took some more drink. 


CHAPTER XXV 


IN IMMINENT PERIL 

The candid savagery of the ruffian’s last speech made 
Marion terribly afraid. She could see that he was fast 
getting drunk, and she knew perfectly well that even if 
he were to drink himself into a condition of stupor, the 
stages through which he would have to pass before in- 
sensibility came would be times of real peril for her. 

She perceived the dangers of the situation, therefore, 
but was powerless to take any means to defend herself 
from them. Her chief hope was that Mr. Fawcett would 
make a vigorous effort to solve the small cipher message 
she had sent to him, and that he would take immediate 
steps to secure her safety. One source of fear to her was 
that perhaps what she had openly written might mislead 
him into a belief that she was really safe and well, and 
detained by legitimate causes, and as the time passed she 
became more and more anxious to send him another mes- 
sage and hidden appeal for help. 

In this reason she resolved to take a very risky course 
and offer to write to the bank for all the jewels to be sent 
where she was. 

“ How can I get you what you want ? ” she asked the 
man. She had not been silent long, having come to her 
decision very quickly. 


262 


In Imminent Peril 


“ I don’t know, and I don’t care either,” was the an- 
swer. “ All I know is if yer don’t get ’em it’ll be the 
worse for yer. Yer ain’t goin’ to make a fool o’ me, I 
can tell yer.” 

“ All that I have is at the bank,” said Marion, “ and if 
I were there I could get everything and give it you. But 
as you won’t trust me what am I to do ? ” 

“ I don’t know and I don’t care,” repeated the brute. 

“ Besides, if I give up everything to you how am I to 
know that you will let me go then ? ” asked Marion. 

“ Any ’ow yer like,” was the answer. “ D’yer mean 
yer can’t trust me?” he asked, with sudden fierceness. 

“ You said you would let me go when I sent for the 
hundred pounds, but you refused as soon as it was in 
your hands.” 

“ Well, wot if I did. Ain’t I master o’ my own tongue 
to say wot I like, and master o’ my own ’ands to do wot 
I like. Eh ? wot do yer say to that ? ” and he went and 
stood threateningly over the girl. Then a maudlin, 
drunken smile burst over his face, and he stroked her 
head and patted her cheeks till her blood chilled with 
indignation. “ Look ’ere,” he said, “ yer a good gal and 
a plucky ’un — aye, a plucky ’un,” this, with drunken 
iteration, “and I’d like to see anyone as ’ll deny it; I’ll 
wallop ’em, if they do. I like yer, little un ; I do, and I 
ain’t goin’ to hit yer: no, nor let anybody else ’urt yer, 
neither,” and he turned savagely on the woman as he said 
this. “ But yer’ve got them jewels, yer know yer ’ave, 
yer cunnin’ little devil,” and he laughed and chucked the 
girl under the chin, turning the face up to his, “ and yer’ll 
’ave to give ’em up. If yer do that, yer shall go away 


264 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


free as free ; strike me, if yer shan’t. Now, is that square, 
little lady ? ” and he leered drunkenly at her as he spoke. 

“ I’ll trust you,” said Marion; and as if she was carried 
away by his fairness, she put out her hand and took the 
brute’s great rough fingers in her own, and pressed them. 
It was a happy instinct on her part, and made a great 
impression. “ I believe you. But now, listen to my diffi- 
culty. I will tell you nothing but the truth. What jewels 
there are in the bank are deposited, and a receipt has been 
given to me for them. That receipt is locked up in a 
desk in my bedroom. What I fear is, that without that 
receipt, the bank manager will not part with the jewels. 
But if you will send to the bank, again, I will write an 
order for their delivery to your messenger, and then we 
can see whether he will give them up.” 

“ Right yer are, little ’un,” said the man, clapping her 
on the shoulder. “ Yer’ll do. Write the letter, and we’ll 
soon ’ave it up to the bank. And if he parts wi’ the 
jewels yer’ll be free. Straight, yer shall.” 

Marion reckoned that by this time Mr. Fawcett would 
have had an opportunity of puzzling out the cipher, and 
that a second message would have the effect of rousing 
him to instant action. She was also convinced that he 
would not part with the jewels; but as her anxiety was 
that the time which must elapse before help could come 
should be attended with as little danger as possible, she 
was glad that the people of the house should be kept 
expectant upon the result of the message to the bank; 
and she hoped also to fill out even more time by negotia- 
tions which would surely follow in reference to the 
jewels. 


In Imminent Peril 265 

She wrote the following letter and order to Mr. 
Fawcett — 

“ Dear Mr. Fawcett,— I have sudden need for the 
jewels deposited with you; please hand them to the 
bearer. I enclose receipt, marked as you desired, with 
the number of the deed box. Please act immediately. — 
Yours truly, 

Marion Jannaway.” 

“ Robt. Fawcett, Esq.” 

“ Received of Mr. Robert Fawcett all the jewels de- 
posited by me with the Capital Bank, Clerkenwell Branch. 
December 12 th, 188 — 

Marion Jannaway.” 

“What’s them figures agen?” asked the man, when 
Marion handed him the letter and receipt to fasten up 
and send. 

“ You see what Fve said in the note,” answered the 
girl. “ They form the number of the deed box in the 
bank safes in which the jewels have been placed.” She 
spoke calmly, and as the mention of the matter in the 
body of the letter seemed to bear out the interpretation 
she had given, the man was satisfied, and to Marion’s 
delight took the envelope away to be sent up to the bank. 

The real meaning of the cipher message was, “ In 
peril;” and Marion conjectured that by the reference to 
the figures in the letter she would thoroughly rouse the 
manager to take energetic measures. 

While the letter was being taken to the bank and the 


266 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


answer was being awaited, the man sent his wife out for 
some more drink and cigars, and as soon as she returned 
he took it away, and Marion, to her intense relief, heard 
him go upstairs. 

She did not make the slightest attempt to move from 
the chair in which she sat, but kept still, wondering what 
would be the result of the message, and hoping that help 
would soon come. 

The man came back when the messenger returned from 
the bank, and he seemed to stagger a little as he entered 
the room holding a letter in his hand. 

“ Wot’s this mean ? ” he growled, as he tossed the letter 
on to the girl’s lap. “ He ain’t sent no jewels.” 

Marion read the letter aloud. 

“ Dear Miss Jannaway, — I have your note in reference 
to the jewels, and will do all in my power to let you have 
what you need ; but I must say it is not usual for the bank 
to deliver up valuables for which a receipt has been given, 
except upon the production of the receipt itself. How- 
ever, to meet your convenience I will take one of two 
courses, whichever you may please to adopt ; either hand 
the jewels to you personally at the bank, or send them 
to be delivered into your hands direct. I trust one of 
these courses will suit you, as I really cannot give them 
up to a messenger unless you send me the receipt given 
by the bank. 

“ By the way, you have made a slip in writing the num- 
ber of the deed box from memory. It should be 80 iT’83, 
not I7 as you put it. 

“ Please let me have your reply to this as soon as pos- 


In Imminent Peril 267 

sible, as the afternoon is getting on, and I should like the 
matter settled before dark. 

“ Yours truly, Robert Fawcett.” 

” Wot’s he mean by all that rigmarole?” asked the 
man, as Marion finished reading the letter. 

“ That I can’t have my own property,” said the girl, 
warmly, and with as much seeming indignation as she 
could put into her voice and manner. “ That 1 must go 
in person to the bank, or have someone sent from the 
bank to bring them to me, or else send by a mes- 
senger the receipt which the bank gave for them. I can’t 
do either. It’s preposterous ; but it’s not my fault, you 
see that,” she cried, as she turned to him. 

“ Where’s that receipt? ” 

“ Locked up in a drawer in my room at the bank.” 

“ Oh, is it? Wait a minute,” and he went out and up 
the staircase, and Marion began to suspect that he was 
acting in concert with someone upstairs whom she had 
not seen. 

When he came down his face wore a cunning grin. 

“ Look ’ere, I’ve ’it it. Jest write and tell that bloke 
as yer won’t bother him no more to-day, but’ll send round 
the receipt in the mornin’.” 

“ But I haven’t it in my possession,” said Marion. 

“ No, I know yer ’aven’t, now; but this ’ere’s a biggish 
job, and p’raps some on us may find that bit o’ paper in 
the night. Yer know where it is well enough to describe 
it; so jest write as I tell yer.” 

Marion wrote the note willingly enough ; she was only 
too glad to have an opportunity of communicating again 


268 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


with Mr. Fawcett, now that he had clearly shown he 
understood the cipher. The alteration he had made was 
to substitute i for 7, as the figure for the “ e ” in peril, 
thus using the same method exactly as her father had 
used, instead of following the order of the typewriter 
merely. She wrote — 

“ Dear Mr. Fawcett, — I will not trouble you again to- 
night in the matter of the jewels, but will send round, 
or bring round, the receipt in the morning. 

I am obliged for the correction ; 1 must have misun- 
derstood you, but it is quite clear now. — Yours faithfully, 

Marion Jan n a way.” 

This letter was given to the man, and sent up to the 
bank. Then he declared that there was only one more 
little bit of business to do, when they could settle down 
to “ make a jolly good night of it.” He went to the door 
and called, “ Tom,” and a young fellow entered, whom 
Marion recognised immediately as one of those who had 
been with Linnegan on the night when he had attempted 
to carry her away in Clerkenwell. She had been so ac- 
customed to strange coincidences and experiences, that 
this recognition caused her little or no surprise. 

“ Whereabouts in that ’ouse do yer sleep; jest tell Tom 
'ere where that is, and where about in the room yer’ve put 
that bloomin’ receipt.” 

Being thoroughly on her guard and fully prepared for 
whatever might be asked, Marion had no difficulty in 
giving, with great readiness, a completely fanciful de- 
scription of the position of the room and of the place 


In Imminent Peril 


269 

where the paper would be found. She was determined 
that it should never fall into the hands of these people, 
and knew that by the time her tale could be tested she 
would either be free or dead. 

Marion did not disguise from herself that the time of 
the rescue would be fraught with imminent peril to her. 
She sat thus thinking how she would be able to help from 
the inside those who should come to aid her. 

After she had given the false description of her bed- 
room at the bank, the young fellow whom they called 
“ Tom,” went away as soon as he had had something to 
drink, and it was with great satisfaction that Marion 
heard him leave the house. There was one man less in 
the house, she thought. 

Then she sat and waited, watching the man and woman 
drink. The man showed no restraint in this, and as he 
began to find the beer insipid, he kept to the brandy, 
taking each glass stronger than the last, until he was 
drinking almost neat spirit. It soon told, and he went 
off into a sleep, the deep stertorous breathing of which, 
proclaimed how heavy was the stupor. 

The woman, however, never relaxed her vigilance; 
and when it grew too dark for her to watch the girl, she 
lit two candles, one of which she placed near herself, the 
other near Marion. The latter then foresaw that when 
the party of rescue came to the house, it would be an 
immense advantage to her to be able to plunge the room 
in darkness; and thus, seemingly, without a purpose, she 
moved her seat to a spot from which she could blow out 
the one candle, and, with a towel that lay near, she could 
manage to extinguish the other. 


2JO 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


Then she took a most minutely accurate observation of 
the position of every article of furniture in the room, so 
as to be able, in the dark, to find a place to hide. 

All the time that she was making these plans, she was 
listening intently, straining every nerve to catch the first 
sound of any movement outside the house. 

The first intimation she had that something would 
probably happen soon, was the failure of the messenger, 
Mrs. Bloxam, to return from the bank. Marion guessed 
that she had been detained on suspicion; if so, the rescue 
would not long be delayed. Probably it had been thought 
best to wait until dark. 

The situation was a terrible one ; and the eager anxiety 
with which Marion listened for any sound was almost 
painful. The heavy, regular, stertorous snoring of the 
man who lay on the bed, with only small breaks of silent 
breathing, made it difficult for the girl to hear anything 
at all ; but after a weary time of suspense, she thought 
she could catch the sound of a movement at the back of 
the house — the soft, stealthy tread of feet. She would 
have given pounds to have been able to go to the window, 
throw up the blind, and look out. 

Then she heard someone moving overhead, and heavy 
feet came slowly and cautiously down, and a hoarse, deep 
guttural whisper was heard calling — 

“ Dick — Dick, yer fool ! ” 

The woman opened the door. 

“ What is it, Bill? ” she asked. 

“ Where’s Dick? ” 

“ He’s boozed, and sleeping it off on the bed.” 

“ What does he want to go and drink to-night, of all 


In Imminent Peril 


271 

nights, I d like to know — the fool ! ” This was said with 
a deep oath, and Marion almost started from her chair 
as she heard the voice. 

It was the voice of James Linnegan, and the foul oath 
was the same she had heard him use in the house across 
the road. 

What could it mean ? He must have escaped ! 

“ Try and rouse him,” said the man. 

” Mind the door, then, ’cause of the girl,” said the wo- 
man, and she went to the bed and shook the sleeper vio- 
lently, but all to no purpose. He growled out some oaths, 
.and struck at her, and told her to leave him alone. 

“ Curse him ! ” said the voice, so close to Marion that 
she started and looked away from the bed to the door, 
when she met James Linnegan’s eyes fixed upon her, and 
she shuddered in fear. But he said nothing to her, and, 
withdrawing his head from the room, spoke to the woman 
again. 

“ Where’s that Bloxam ? Ain’t she back yet ? ” 

“ No ; she’s a long time.” 

While they were speaking together, Marion heard dis- 
tinctly the sounds of footsteps outside the window of the 
room, and her heart began to beat at a great rate. 

Just then, a single knock, lightly struck, sounded at the 
front door. 

“ That’s Bloxam’s knock,” said the man ; “ I’ll go,” 
and Marion heard him go gently along the passage. She 
heard his hand pull the handle back, and the click of the 
latch. Then the door was flung open violently, and as 
violently shut again ; there came a rush of feet into the 
house, a noise of heavy struggling in the passage, and a 


272 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


tumult of cries, oaths and shouts of men, to which were 
joined the sound of heavy blows on the door at the back 
of the house. In the midst of it all, the thick, bass voice 
of Linnegan was heard shouting to the others that the 
police were on them. 

As soon as Marion had heard the noise, she blew out 
the candle near to her, threw the towel at the other and 
extinguished that, and then screaming loudly for help, 
and fearing for her life if she should be found, squeezed 
herself into a little corner in a recess, between a chest of 
drawers and the wall, and waited silently for what should 
happen. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


A FIGHT FOR LIFE 

Of all the experiences of her life, Marion had never 
known anything equal to the horror of the minutes that 
followed the warning shout of the man in the passage 
that the police were in the house. 

The noise of the struggle and shouting, combined with 
Marion’s screams roused the man on the bed, and he 
awoke and seemed to throw off instantly some of the 
effects of the drink. Rolling out the most terrible oaths 
and menaces against everyone who had disturbed him, 
and swearing viciously at the woman for having the room 
dark, he asked what was the matter. 

“ The police are here, Dick, and I think they’ve taken 
Bill,” the woman replied, in a loud whisper. 

“ Why don’t yer get a light ? Do you mean to have me 
taken like a rat in a trap? ” he growled sinking his voice 
to a husky whisper, and garnishing the words with oaths. 
“ Get a light, can’t yer.” 

“ I can’t find no matches. I had a couple of candles 
alight, but that young hussy has put them both out.” 

The man’s reply to this was a threat that made Mar- 
ion’s blood chill. 

She heard him get off the bed, and stagger across the 
room to where she had been sitting, and then heard him 
273 


274 Miser Hoadley's Secret 

swear when he couldn’t find her. He almost touched her 
as he passed. 

“ Where is she? ’As she got out o’ the room. If they 

mean to take me, by I’ll give ’em something to take 

me for.” 

“ No, she’s in the room somewhere ; the door’s locked 
and ain’t bin undone all the time; I’ve got the key.” 

“ Come ’ere, yer artful young she-devil, or it’ll be the 
worse for yer when I catch yer. This is your work, in 
some way, and I’ll make yer pay for it. If I get my 
fingers on that throat o’ yourn I’ll stop your screechin’, 
curse me if I don’t. Yer won’t play no more tricks wi’ 
me, ner nobody else. Why don’t yer get a light, yer fool, 
so as I can find her,” he asked, savagely, of the woman. 

Marion crouched down in her corner and squeezed her- 
self into the smallest possible space, as she heard the man 
feeling about the room to find her; and swearing alter- 
nately at her for keeping hidden and at the woman be- 
cause the room was in total darkness. 

Meanwhile the struggle in the passage continued, while 
the door at the back of the house was resounding under 
the blows that were rained upon it ; while the men outside 
demanded admittance in loud tones. 

Marion could not understand why there was so much 
delay in the rescuers coming to the room where she was, 
and the suspense was almost unendurable. Delay meant 
death to her. 

Suddenly a cry came from the passage. 

“ Dick, Dick, Help, Help, Come here, quick.” 

It was Linnegan’s voice, and it seemed as if he had 
mastered those who had attacked him. 


2 75 


A Fight for Life 

The man in the room ordered the woman to open the 
door and stand by it, and not let Marion pass, and then 
dashed out into the passage. 

“ Get the revolvers, Dick,” Marion heard Linnegan 
shout, as soon as the other man reached the hall, “ I’ve 
got these two devils down, and can hold ’em for a 
minute. If you get the barkers, we’ll finish off these two, 
and then we’ll make it hot for anyone who tries to get 
in at us.” 

The man dashed upstairs, and Marion heard him 
tramping about overhead. 

“ Look sharp Dick,” called Linnegan, “ I can’t hold 
out much longer, and if the door is once opened, there’s 
a dozen coppers outside. What the devil are yer doing? 

“ I can’t put my hand on ’em ? Lizzie, Lizzie,” he 
called excitedly, “ come out and get a light, will yer? and 
help to find my barker.” 

“ What about the gal ? ” 

“ the gal,” was the answer shouted down. 

“ Lock ’er in the room, we’ll settle with ’er arter this, look 
sharp.” 

Marion’s heart beat with exultation at the thought that 
she was to be left alone, when she would be able to open 
the window and let the men in. 

As she heard the woman open the door, she rose a little 
from her corner prepared to act the moment the room 
was clear. She strained her eyes to see the woman, but 
she could not discern anything in the gloom of the room. 
The rustle of the woman’s dress told her that she had 
opened the door and was leaving the room. 

Just at that moment, a shout from the man upstairs 


276 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

announced that he had found what he wanted, and he 
came down the staircase at headlong speed, and ran to 
help Linnegan. 

The woman turned back instantly into the room, and 
Marion crouched down into her corner again. She held 
her breath and stopped her ears, expecting every moment 
to hear the crack of a revolver to tell that the murder 
had been done. 

Instead of that, there was a wild cry of rage and con- 
fusion raised simultaneously by both men. 

The revolvers were unloaded. 

A man’s voice was then heard at the back of the house, 
in a tone of authority, ordering the men to break down 
the back door with all possible speed, as that in the front 
had been unexpectedly shut just after two police con- 
stables had entered. 

“ Be as quick as you can, men, or there may be murder 
done,” said the officer, who seemed to be standing close 
to the window. 

This explained to the listening girl how it was there 
had been so long a delay in coming to her rescue. The 
two men who had entered had been overpowered by 
Linnegan. 

As soon as the discovery was made that the revolvers 
were not loaded, the struggle in the passage seemed to 
break out again. 

“ Lend a ’and here, Dick,” she heard, in Linnegan’s 
gruff tones, “ and I’ll get at this chap’s staff ; he’s got it 
’idden away ’ere.” Then followed more sounds of fight- 
ing, with curses and cries from all the parties ; and lastly 
Marion heard some heavy, smashing blows followed by 


277 


A Fight for Life 

moans, and then everything in the front of the house was 
comparatively still. 

“ That’s been a tough job,” said Linnegan, with an 
oath, “ but they won’t bother us again yet awhile. Look 
sharp and get them cartridges, they’re in the drawers in 
the back room, and then we’ll give these others pepper, 

if they try to stop us. And for sake, somebody do 

get a light. Ah, smash away as hard as yer like; yer 
won’t break that door down in a ’urry,” he said, listening 
to the blows on the back door. “ Get them cartridges, 
quick, Dick ; and then you an’ me must take to the roofs. 
This’ll be a ’anging job if they get ’old of us.” 

“ The men ain’t dead, are they, Bill ? ” asked the wo- 
man, in a frightened tone. 

“ No, yer fool,” replied Linnegan, “ but old Simeon is ; 
and I reckon that that cur Bloxam ’as peached.” 

“ Hush, Bill, you forget the girl’s here,” said the 
woman. 

“ So I did,” answered the man, with a terrible oath. 
“ But she shan’t tell no tales. Dick, find them cartridges, 
quick, d’yer ’ear; and Lizzie, you get a light. I’ll take 
care she don’t get out o’ the room. Look alive. Go it, 
yer devils, ’ammer away ; but yer didn’t reckon for them 
two great iron bars, did yer,” he muttered, as the blows 
of the men on the back door sounded even louder than 
before. 

Marion almost fainted with fear as the man, whom 
they called Dick, felt his way round the room to the chest 
of drawers by the side of which the girl crouched doubled 
up in the corner. 

She felt the drawers shake as the man pulled them 


278 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

open to feel for the cartridges, and he almost touched her 
as he stood turning over the contents of the drawer and 
tossing them out in his search, on to the top and even 
over the girl as she stooped at the side. 

“ Why the dickens don’t Lizzie bring that light ? ” 
growled the other man, Linnegan. “ Time’s gettin’ pre- 
cious : does she s’pose those bars ’ll ’old out for ever. Got 
them cartridges, Dick ? ” he growled. 

“ Yes,” answered the latter, “ ’ere y’ are.” 

“ Give us the revolver as well,” said Linnegan. 

“ I give it yer, jest now in the passage, didn’t I, when 
I come down with it? I’ve left mine somewhere out 
there.” 

He shut up the drawer as he spoke, and the whole 
chest rocked and shook with his violence. Then he 
crossed to the door to where his companion was. 

“ Wot a time Lizzie is gettin’ that light : hang the 
woman, why don’t she make ’aste ? ” And then it seemed 
to Marion that they both went out of the door to look for 
the revolvers. 

“ ’Ere she comes at last. Look alive, Lizzie ; seconds 
is precious now,” said the other man, and through the 
open door Marion could see the faint glimmer of a light 
as the woman was bringing it downstairs. 

In another minute Marion knew she must be discov- 
ered, and she felt persuaded that they meant to shoot 
her. 

It was a moment of truly awful distress. 

Then she made a bold and daring resolve. 

She rose quickly from the corner where she had been 
crouching, and screamed as loud as she could. 


279 


A Fight for Life 

“ Murder, murder, help, help ! ” 

At the same moment she wrapped a part of the cur- 
tain round her hand and arm, and dashed it with all her 
force through a pane of glass, calling out again, 

“ I am here. Help, help ! ” 

Then she pulled the curtain with all her force and 
strength till it fell down from its fastenings, and she 
crouched back in her corner, letting it fall on her and 
conceal her. 

The two men came running back into the room, swear- 
ing vengeance upon her, and the woman entered with 
the light at the same moment. 

“ Put a bullet through ’er ’ead,” shouted Linnegan, 
uttering a terrible curse. 

The woman held the light aloft while the men looked 
hastily about for the girl, but for the moment could not 
see her. 

That moment saved her life, for the next instant the 
window was beaten in, and several policemen sprang into 
the room and rushed to secure the two men and the 
woman. 

The two men fired their revolvers, without doing any 
harm, however, and turned and fled from the room, clos- 
ing the door behind them; thus causing a momentary 
check to their pursuers. 

Then Marion, who had passed so biavely through the 
ordeal, and had even at the last moment saved her own 
life by the shrewd resource and prompt courage with 
which she had brought the police into the room and had 
hidden herself, felt her strength giving way. The feeling 
that she was safe, and that there was no longer need for 


280 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


action on her own part, relaxed suddenly the strain and 
nervous tension, and she fainted without being able to 
call out, or even to stir from the corner where she 
crouched. 

Meanwhile, the door of the room was quickly forced 
and the police pursued the men upstairs, and as the two 
ruffians had no time to carry out their plan of escaping 
by the roof, a most desperate struggle took place, in 
which both sides knew they were fighting for their lives. 

The struggle was fierce and terrible while it lasted. 
Two of the constables were shot, though not seriously, 
by the first discharge from the men’s revolvers, but be- 
fore they could fire a second volley the police rushed in 
upon them, and after a short time, in which the use of the 
truncheon was not spared, both men were secured and 
handcuffed. Both sides had wounds to show as the result 
of the conflict. 

As soon as the fight was over and the prisoners secured, 
one or two of the constables ran downstairs to open the 
front door and let in those of their comrades who were 
stationed there. 

“ Is Miss Jannaway safe? ” was asked, as soon as the 
door was open. 

In the excitement of the struggle with the men, the 
police had forgotten Marion, and when the question was 
asked, several of them hurried away to search the house. 

In the front room they found the two constables who 
had been beaten into insensibility, and arrangements were 
at once made for their removal to the hospital. 

“ She was in the back room,” said one of the men, who 
had heard her cry for help, when she broke the window. 


281 


A Fight for Life 

They called to her by name, and began to fear the worst 
when no answer was given. 

A light was brought, and, when, after looking about 
the room for some time, they found her doubled up in 
the corner, squeezed in between the drawers and wall, 
pale as death and motionless, they thought she was dead. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


AFTER THE RESCUE 

Marion was very weak and exhausted after the shock 
and strain of her terrible experiences in Clergy-street ; 
and for some time after her removal to Mr. Fawcett’s 
house was too prostrated to give any long account of 
what had happened. 

She rallied, however, very quickly, when the turn came, 
and she thanked Mr. Fawcett very cordially for his 
promptness in taking means to have her rescued. 

“ They intended to break into the house here,” she 
said, when she had told them something of the occur- 
rences; “in order to find the receipt for the jewels, so 
that I might send it up to you to-morrow morning. They 
asked me for an ex&ct description of the position of my 
room, and the place in which I had left the receipt.” 

“ Did you give it to them ? ” asked the bank manager, 
rather eagerly and anxiously. 

“ No,” replied Marion, smiling. “ I hope it was not 
very wicked of me; but I invented a description on the 
spur of the moment. But if the man who I suppose was 
to undertake the burglary — he is a young man, slim, dark 
and shrewd-looking — does not hear of the arrests, an at- 
tempt may be made. It would be well to take pre- 
cautions.” 


282 


After the Rescue 


283 


“ I will do so/’ answered .Mr. Fawcett. “ Let me say, 
however, how clever it was of you to think of communi- 
cating with me in the cipher.” 

“ Rather, how quick of you to understand such an ex- 
traordinary message as I had to send,” answered Marion, 
and she held out her hand and pressed his as she added, 
“ It was that saved my life.” 

“ Most fortunately I was not very busy this afternoon, 
and the circumstances of your sending as you did struck 
me as very singular. Then I came across the figures, and 
began to wonder what they could mean. Happily, the 
slip of cipher and the key to it which you gave me were 
at hand, and I was thus able to read the message. The 
rest you owe to Mr. Mostyn, the detective. As soon as 
I understood the message I went up to the police station, 
and he happened to be there. I told him everything, and 
he made all the plans immediately. When that woman 
Bloxam came to the bank the last time we detained her — 
Mostyn of course knew her — and questioned her. She 
would not say where you were, and denied all knowledge 
of the Clergy-street house. Then we bounced her a little, 
and said we should take her into custody on the charge 
of being concerned in your father’s murder: and there 
was no doubt about her being frightened. I had her 
followed to Clergy-street, and when she was seen to 
enter the same house you had mentioned in your letter, 
we knew we were on the right track. Mostyn, however, 
said we had better wait till dark, as the neighborhood 
was a nasty one, and if anyone saw we were making 
preparations to rescue you they might give an alarm. 
We did wait and you know the result.” 


284 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ I don’t understand it all yet,” answered Marion. “ I 
cannot understand, for one thing, how James Linnegan 
escaped from prison without our knowing of it, and it 
is absolutely unaccountable how Mrs. Bloxam should 
have given such information to me and to the police, 
about Linnegan, as she did, and yet' be apparently on 
such good terms with him. I cannot understand it.” 

“ I cannot explain it; but I must just go and take pre- 
cautions lest any attempt should really be made to break 
in here to-night.” 

He left the room, and when he returned said that the 
detective, Mr. Mostyn, had called, and wished to know 
whether Marion was well enough to see him. 

“ Certainly,” said the girl, who was eager to learn the 
explanation of the mystery. 

Mr. Mostyn’s manner towards Marion was very dif- 
ferent from what it had formerly been. It was now 
without a trace of suspicion, and at times was nearly 
deferential. 

“ I thought you would perhaps wish to see me to- 
night, Miss Jannaway, in reference to these arrests,” he 
said. “ I hope you are better now, and feel no ill effects 
from this afternoon. You have had a wonderful escape. 
We know the men well,” he added, turning to Mr. Faw- 
cett. “ One of them is a most notorious and desperate 
scoundrel, Bill Burkett, and has been wanted by us for 
a long time.” 

“ Please tell me,” said Marion, eagerly, “ how came it 
that James Linnegan escaped.” 

“ James Linnegan? I do not quite understand you,” 
said Mr. Mostyn. “ Linnegan has not escaped.” 


After the Rescue 


285 


“ Oh, you do not understand,” cried the girl, “ James 
Linnegan is one of the men who was in Clergy-street. 
How could he get there if he had not escaped ? ” 

The detective looked at Marion with some surprise and 
smiled as he replied : 

” But James Linnegan is in the House of Detention 
and has been there since he was remanded from the police 
court.” Then his manner changed suddenly, and 
his face lighted up rapidly as a thought occurred to 
him. “ Stay a moment. Let me ask you a question. 
You think you saw Linnegan in Clergy-street this after- 
noon.” 

“ Think ! ” cried Marion. “ I am positive. The man 
I gave into custody was the man I saw this afternoon. 
I could pick him out from a hundred. I can now see 
before my eyes the heavy, massive figure, the dull, sullen- 
looking face, the thick, protruding jaws, and I can never 
forget the deep, husky, rolling bass voice. The man w r ho 
broke into Morris-place, who entered my father’s house 
in Clergy-street when I lay in hiding there, who robbed 
me in the cab, and whom I gave into custody, is the man 
who nearly killed those constables in Clergy-street this 
afternoon, and then wanted to murder me. I am 
positive.” 

“Yet you are mistaken, Miss Jannaway; completely 
and utterly mistaken,” said the detective, quietly. “ But 
what you have said shows me where we are. The two 
men Linnegan and Burkett are very much alike, and 
each has the same husky, deep voice. You have con- 
fused them; and the man who has attempted to rob you 
and has broken into the houses is Tom Burkett. He and 


286 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

this woman Bloxam have been pulling together in this 
matter. That’s what it means.” 

“ But you forget,” said Marion, “ that this Linnegan 
was found to have in his possession certain property 
which belonged to my father.” 

“ He may be in it as well,” answered Mr. Mostyn, “ as 
likely as not; but you may depend upon it we have the 
chief actor in Burkett.” 

“ But if they were acting in league together, why did 
Mrs. Bloxam volunteer the evidence against Linnegan? ” 
asked Marion. 

“ Ah, there is that,” put in Mr. Fawcett, who had been 
listening most intently to the conversation. 

“ No doubt that will come out directly,” answered the 
detective, escaping from the dilemma with a customary 
police phrase. “ But now about the charges against these 
people, Burkett and the Dunns, to-morrow. They will be 
charged, together with the woman Bloxam, with con- 
spiring to rob you and with the assaults upon the police ; 
while Burkett and Dunn will have a number of charges 
of burglary to answer. It is probable, however, that the 
smaller matters will be brought up first. You know we 
obtained a search warrant under which we entered the 
house; and the assault on the police will be enough to 
procure their detention. Shall you be well enough to 
appear against them ? ” 

“ Yes; well, no; on consideration, I am not certain. 
This conversation has very much excited me, and I do 
not think I am quite so well as I was ; but if it is abso- 
lutely necessary I will try to appear.” It had suddenly 


After the Rescue 


287 

occurred to her that Ralph Gething might be very un- 
willing for her to take any more steps until his return. 

“ I do not think Miss Jannaway ought to appear to- 
morrow, ” said Mr. Fawcett. “ She is not strong enough.” 

“ Well, we will see. I do not think it will be essential, 
though it might be advantageous,” said Mr. Mostyn, as he 
rose to leave. 

Very soon after he had left, a telegram came for 
Marion from Ralph Gething, saying he was on his way 
home, and would arrive early in the morning. 

This gave the girl great delight. She was passionately 
eager to see her lover again, and have the whole of this 
cloud of doubt and misgiving removed, and the expecta- 
tion of having him again with her, almost drove away the 
excitement which had been caused by Mr. Mostyn telling 
her of the mistake she had made in regard to the two men. 

The Fawcetts and Marion sat some time talking over 
the whole matter and indulging in many guesses, more or 
less vague, as to what could possibly be the explanation, 
and they were just going to bed, when a loud knocking 
and ringing at the door disturbed them. The servants 
had gone to bed, and, remembering what Marion had said, 
about the threatened burglary, Mrs. Fawcett was very 
unwilling that the door should be opened. 

“ Burglars don’t ring and knock like that, my dear,” 
said the bank manager, with a smile. 

“ Oh, you don’t know what they’ll do, Robert,” ans- 
wered his wife. “ I’m sure Miss Jannaway will agree 
with me that we’d better not open the door. Had we, 
dear?” she said, appealing to Marion. 


Miser Hoadlev’s Secret 


288 

j. " 

“ I do not think I am afraid/’ answered Marion. 

At that moment the knocking was repeated, and Mr. 
Fawcett went down to the door. In deference to his 
wife’s fears — and not altogether without thought for him- 
self — he asked in a loud voice who it was, before unlock- 
ing the door. 

“ It’s me, Mr. Fawcett, Sergeant Mostyn. I want to see 
Miss Jannaway.” 

The bank manager recognized the voice and the detec- 
tive stepped in immediately. 

“ I have most important news, Mr. Fawcett ; and I in- 
tended to knock you up. We’ve had a confession of the 
murder of old Simeon Hoadley in Clergy-street.” 

They went upstairs at once to Marion. 

“ Mr. Mostyn has some very important news, Miss Jan- 
naway,” said Mr. Fawcett as the two men entered the 
room. 

“ I thought you would wish to know what has happened 
without any delay,” said Mr. Mostyn, with a quasi apol- 
ogy, “ so I returned here even at this late hour.” 

“ What is it? ” asked Marion. She had been thinking 
so much of Ralph Gething, that she feared for the mo- 
ment that something might have transpired affecting him. 

“ The woman Bloxam has made a most important state- 
ment,” said Mr. Mostyn, “ amounting to a virtual con- 
fession of the murder of your father.” 

“ Mrs. Bloxam? ” cried Marion, starting up in her sur- 
prise. “ What does she say? ” 

“ Her statement is to this effect,” replied the detective. 
“ She avers that James Linnegan had nothing to do with 
the crime, but that it was committed by the two men Dunn 


After the Rescue 


289 

and Burkett, and that she was present. She says that she 
had for a long time believed that Simeon Hoadley was in 
possession of a large amount of money and valuables; 
but though she searched his rooms constantly in his ab- 
sence, she could find nothing. She took the Dunns and 
Burkett into her confidence, and they came to the con- 
clusion that he was carrying it about with him, or that it 
was in the safe of which he kept' the keys. They re- 
solved to drug him and rob him. The time was arranged 
and she herself administered the drug. The others did 
not come to her as they had agreed, and she went across 
to fetch them. As she was returning after some small 
delay, she was concerned to see someone leave the house, 
No. 50. When they all entered the room where your 
father was, there were signs that the place had been dis- 
turbed. She said nothing, however, and they all went to 
work to search the old man. The delay had, however, 
allowed the effects of the drug to partially wear off, and in 
the midst of the search, they were startled by his recover- 
ing consciousness and beginning to struggle and cry out. 
Then it was that both Dunn and Burkett turned on him, 
and dealt him the blows which killed him. They were the 
more furious because, after all, they could not find a single 
valuable in the place. She declares that she endeavored 
to save the old man’s life, and only desisted when they 
turned on her and threatened her.” 

“ That is a very extraordinary statement,” said Mr. 
Fawcett. Marion was silent and thoughtful ; and the de- 
tective resumed. 

“ They were still so certain that there were valuables in 
the place that as soon as we had given up the place to you 


290 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

they broke into it again, and when the goods were re- 
moved they followed them as you know. They believed 
that you yourself knew of the existence of this money. 
Then, it seems, Mrs. Bloxam found you there one after- 
noon, and afterwards picked up a valuable stone you had 
dropped in the room. This determined them to try and 
rob you, and when that failed, to decoy you and force you 
to give up everything/’ 

“ Whatever was there belonged to Miss Jannaway under 
her father’s will,” said Mr. Fawcett. “ The will was left 
in my charge; and what' was found is now in the bank 
cellars.” 

“ Quite so. I quite understand that,” said the detec- 
tive. 

“ But I understood the police ascertained that Mrs. 
Bloxam had been absent for a week before my poor 
father’s death,” said Marion to Mr. Mostyn. 

“ We were told so : but as a matter of fact, our in- 
formant was the woman Dunn.” 

“ Ah, I see : a little police mistake,’ said Mr. Fawcett, 
drily. 

Mr. Mostyn gave a little deprecating cough, and did not 
answer. 

“ What has caused Mrs. Bloxam to make this statement, 
do you suppose?” asked Marion. 

“ When she learnt that the others had been arrested she 
was very much affected; and probably she thought — as 
these people so often do — that it would be a race as to 
who should make the first confession, so as to be allowed 
to turn Queen’s evidence, or at least to get a lighter 
sentence,” 


After the Rescue 


291 


“ Do you suppose she has told the truth ? ” 

Mr. Mostyn shrugged his shoulders. 

“ I should be sorry to have to decide that,” he an- 
swered, lightly. “ This will of course be likely to affect 
the course of proceedings to-morrow ; but I will see you in 
the morning,” and he rose to leave. 

“ Still this does not account for James Linnegan’s pos- 
session of the seal that belonged to my poor father,” said 
Marion. 

“ Not exactly : but there is some reason to think from 
this statement of Bloxam’s that he was the man who went 
to the house while your father lay drugged; and that 
either he, or those with whom he may have been working, 
had a knowledge of some hiding place of your father’s, 
and robbed him. That, however, we shall soon find out 
now; just as we shall know who was working with him.” 

Marion turned suddenly pale at these words, and she 
bade the detective good night. 

She remembered how pale Ralph Gething had been on 
the night of the discovery of the murder; how he had 
seemed to know the house, and had told them which had 
been her father’s room ; and how the detective had spoken 
to her on the subject. 

She thought of all this in connection with Mr. Mostyn’s 
words, and a new fear took possession of her, with a de- 
sire stronger than ever to learn how it could be that Lin- 
negan, who as was now pretty clear, must at any rate have 
robbed her father, had been so closely associated with 
Ralph; and how Ralph could have in his possession the 
little ornament which she knew must have been a part' of 
the proceeds of the robbery. 


292 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


The fear haunted and perplexed her, and kept her rest- 
less and troubled during the whole of the night. 

It seemed almost as if the clearing up of the one mys- 
tery had only left the other more inexplicable. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


RALPH GETHING’S STORY 

By the morning Marion’s desire to see Ralph Gething 
had deepened into an intense anxiety, and she blamed her- 
self because after a restless night she had fallen asleep in 
the early morning, and was much later than usual in 
rising. 

She dressed quickly and hurried downstairs, wondering 
at what time Ralph would arrive ; and as she opened the 
door of the breakfast-room, she gave a little cry of joy 
when she saw her lover sitting and bending over the fire. 

He jumped up and came to her with outstretched hands, 
and as she went to him she could see how worried and 
wearied he looked. 

“ Oh, Ralph,” she said, eagerly. “ I have so longed for 
you to come back,” and her manner told of her pleasure 
far more eloquently than any words could have done. 

He kissed her once or twice, and drew her to the win- 
dow, looking rather anxiously into her face. 

“ You are very pale,” he said, “ and have such a troubled 
look that it touches my heart.” 

“ Does it, Ralph ? I have gone through a great deal, 
and even now I am longing to learn that which will ease 
this dreadful fever and fear in my heart,” and she looked 
wistfully and yet searchingly into his eyes. 

“ Marion,” said Ralph Gething, taking the girl’s face 
293 


294 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

between his two hands and looking long and lovingly into 
it. “ Do you trust me ? ” 

She thought she could detect an echo of pain and hesi- 
tation in his voice, and his face seemed to cloud over while 
he waited for her answer, for she paused a moment before 
answering. 

“ Yes, Ralph, I trust you. I have forced myself to dis- 
trust everything that' seemed to tell against you. But oh, 
my dear, it has been hard sometimes. Not hard to trust 
you; but hard to put away everything that seemed to 
tempt me to give shelter to these miserable suspicions. 
But I would not do it. However hard the struggle, I 
have always ended by being firm in my faith in you. But 
do not let us have these clouds again between us.” 

“ I am glad you trusted me, Marion ; very glad. I 
should not have blamed you — I could not have done so — 
if you had not been quite able to keep your faith without 
even a crease. And you love me as ever ? ” he asked 
tenderly. 

The look that the girl gave him made any other answer 
superfluous; and there was a long silence between them, 
which was broken by the entrance of Mrs. Fawcett, who 
made many anxious enquiries about Marion’s health. 

After breakfast, Marion and Ralph were left alone, and 
it was then that Ralph told her all that he knew. 

“ I have been greatly to blame Marion,” he said gently. 
“ It all began, as such things will, in a wish to hide one 
fact from you ; this led to other complications, until I was 
almost afraid to do anything but await the issue of events, 
and hope for the best. Even now, I scarcely know how to 
begin,” he said with a smile. 


Ralph Gething’s Story 295 

“ There is one thing that I chiefly want to know,” said 
Marion. “ What is your connection with James Lin- 
negan? How and when did you first come to know 
him ? — and why did he give you a curious ornament that I 
know belonged to my father ? How did he get possession 
of it ? He did give it to you, didn’t he ? ” 

“ That is more than one thing,” answered Ralph Geth- 
ing, with a smile which seemed to Marion out of place; 
“ You think I ought not to smile,” he said, noticing the 
little frown which showed the girl’s momentary dissatis- 
faction. “ Perhaps you are right ; but everything can be 
explained now, and after the anxiety I have suffered for 
some time, I seem to wish to smile. James Linnegan 
came to my father’s house almost immediately after he 
was released from prison, and my father then, for the 
first time, told me what had been the secret of his life — 
and a sad, wearing secret, too. Years ago, he had some 
money transactions with Simeon Hoadley, your father, 
and under pressure of some temptation, he forged a check 
which your father got into his possession. That check 
he employed as a lever to force my father to pay him 
money, as much, or rather more, than he could at all 
afford. At that time Linnegan was your father’s clerk, 
and knew of certain circumstances connected with the 
transaction which were sufficient to have released my 
father from the yoke, had he known of them. It was to 
tell him of them that Linnegan saw my father in coming 
out of jail. These were the circumstances which I was 
anxious to keep from you. You will understand why?” 

“ Yes,” answered the girl, in a low voice, sorrowing for 
the part which her father had taken. 


296 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


“ When I saw Linnegan it was arranged that he and 
I together should see this Simeon Hoadley; and I was 
going to do this. I met him one day in the street when I 
was with Linnegan, and then I learnt for the first time 
that Simeon Hoadley and Simeon Jannaway — my 
Marion’s father — were one and the same. As a matter of 
fact, I never saw your father on the subject of the check; 
I had an appointment to go to him with Linnegan on the 
very night of the murder, but as I was kept late at the 
office, and had to meet you, I persuaded Linnegan to go to 
Clergy-street by himself.” 

“ Did he go ? ” asked Marion, looking up eagerly. 

“Yes; and what happened then has been the cause of all 
our anxiety since. He found your father, as he thought, 
asleep, and he determined to take by stealth what he could 
not make the old man pay him openly. Do you know who 
James Linnegan is ? ” asked Ralph, breaking off. 

“ No,” replied Marion. 

“ Ah, then I will tell you. You have heard probably 
that your father had a daughter long ago — a daughter 
who was married, and dead and buried before you were 
born. James Linnegan was her husband.” 

“ What ? ” cried out Marion in great surprise. 

“ It is true. Linnegan ran away with his wife — in- 
duced her to leave home secretly — and your father never 
forgave him. He swore to ruin him, and kept his word to 
the bitter end. Linnegan’s wife died after they had been 
married a year, and your father, who had been passionately 
attached to her, laid the death at Linnegan’s door. Not 
even your father’s second marriage with her who was your 
mother, Marion, could appease the old man’s anger. Lin- 


Ralph Gething’s Story 297 

negan went to America and made a mess of things, and 
after a number of years he came back to try and get from 
your father a certain sum of money that belonged to him. 
He was unsuccessful, and it was arranged that Linnegan 
should act as a kind of clerk to your father, and he de- 
clares that this was only part and parcel of a scheme 
that was soon to bring him to ruin.” 

“ He seems a bitter man, Ralph ? ” 

“ He has had a bitter life, Marion. After he had been 
with your father some little, the latter and the woman, 
Bloxam, concocted the story of the attempted murder.’' 

“ Was that not true ? ” asked Marion. 

“ No, my dear. The bullets said to have been fired at 
your father by Linnegan, were fired into the wall by your 
father himself, and he also inflicted a slight flesh wound 
upon himself to make the story seem true. You know 
the result. He was sentenced to twenty years’ penal servi- 
tude, but he was pardoned after five years.” 

“ But my father spoke of him as such a deadly enemy 
to us both, and was in such fear of his violence,” said 
Marion. 

“ He feared him because he had so wronged him,” 
answered Ralph Gething, “ and because at the time of 
conviction Linnegan’s rage overcame him, and he swore 
to take your father’s life. But he is a man of a kind 
heart and a gentle disposition, though soured by the life 
he has led.” 

“ What a terrible story ; and how sad,” said Marion, 
with a sigh. 

“ I am sorry to have had to tell it you, Marion. But 
now you will understand about the money. Your father 


298 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

had never paid* it, and when Linnegan found him asleep, 
and knew where a sum of money would be hidden, he de- 
termined to help himself, and he took what he could find. 
But he left the house while your father was still sleeping — 
sleeping as we now know under the influence of the 
woman Bloxam’s drug. I knew of the visit and knew 
afterwards what he had taken ; and then the fact of the 
murder came upon us like a thunder clap. In a moment 
we perceived the terrible misconstruction to which Linne- 
gan’s visit to the house almost at the time of the murder 
was liable.” 

“ Why did you not tell me ? ” asked Marion and there 
was an accent of reproach in her voice that appealed for- 
cibly to him. 

“ I am sorry now, indeed,” he answered, “ but at the 
time I was ashamed. I wanted to keep from you all 
knowledge of what my father had done, as well as to con- 
ceal the part which yours had played. With all this in 
my mind I knew that my manner must seem strange to 
you. I persevered, however, and even went so far as to 
break into the house at Clergy-street when you were away 
from London in order to try and find the papers which 
Linnegan said were there. But I found nothing and the 
only result of that visit was that I was nearly arrested. 
How I escaped I know not ; but I managed to get away, 
and then I determined to leave London for a while. The 
rest you know.” 

” I know more than that ; I know how you managed to 
escape.” And she told him of her having seen him in the 
house, and how she had mistaken the man who interrupted 


Ralph Gething’s Story 299 

him for Linnegan, just as Ralph had mistaken him for a 
detective. 

“ But I know now, of course, that it was the man Bur- 
kett. What must you have thought, when you recognized 
me in the house ? ” cried Ralph Gething. “ Oh, if I had 
only known you were there, I would have told you all, 
then.” 

“ How did you get that fish ornament, Ralph ? ” 

“ Linnegan restored it to me. It belonged to my father 
originally, but like so much else found its way into 
Simeon Hoadley’s hands. Linnegan found it among the 
money he took from Clergy-street, and gave it up to me.” 

“ Why did James Linnegan wish to take the house in 
Clergy-street ? ” asked Marion. 

“ Because he, like other people, believed there was a 
hoard of money in the house; and he thought he had a 
better right to it than anyone. He knew nothing of the 
relations between you and me; I had not told him even 
who you were, and he only knew you as Miss Jannaway. 
If I had only ” 

Before he finished the sentence, Mr. Price, the lawyer, 
was announced, and hurried into the room, expressing his 
congratulations at the escape which Marion had had on 
the previous day. 

“ I have heard something of the circumstances, Miss 
Jannaway,” he said, “ and you have reason to be pro- 
foundly thankful for your escape. Do you know, Mr. 
Gething,” said the lawyer, turning to Ralph, “ that of all 
the brave, fearless, reckless, rash, and imprudent young 
ladies I have ever heard of, Miss Jannaway is the super- 


300 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


lative degree. She forces one to admire her courage and 
wonder at her resolution in the same breath, that one 
feels almost mad at her hare-brained escapades. But I 
have not time to scold now ; we must settle the matter 
of to-day’s proceedings.” 

A long consultation followed in which the whole of the 
facts, including Ralph Gething’s story were put before 
the lawyer. After many questions had been asked and 
answered, and a long time had been spent in deliberating 
upon the best course to pursue, it was decided to apply 
for James Linnegan’s immediate release in order that his 
evidence might strengthen in some degree the statement 
which Mrs. Bloxam had made. And as soon as the con- 
sultation was finished, both Mr. Price and Ralph Gething 
went away in order to prepare for all that had to be done 
that day. 


CHAPTER XXIX, 


THE END 

The days that followed were days of comparative peace 
for Marion. 

Mrs. Bloxam was allowed to turn “ Queen’s evidence,” 
as it was felt that in no other way could the conviction of 
the two men, Burkett and Dunn, be obtained. Moreover, 
some few circumstances, in addition to James Linnegan’s 
testimony, were found to corroborate her story that 
though she had been a party to the robbery, she had tried 
to prevent the murder of Simeon Hoadley. The two men 
were sentenced to death and the woman, Dunn’s wife, was 
convicted of being an accessory, and sent to penal servi- 
tude for a long term. 

Marion was no believer in Mrs. Bloxam’s oft repeated 
assertions of repentance. The most she would consent to 
was to furnish her with sufficient funds to leave the coun- 
try, and the woman, fearing the vengeance of the asso- 
ciates of the men she had betrayed, was glad enough to go 
away. 

The houses in Morris-place and Clergy-street were 
sold, and as the news of the discovery of Miser Hoadley’s 
fortune had leaked out, with the usual accompaniment of 
erroneous exaggeration, both places fetched prices that 
were out of all proportion to their real value, the buyers 
3oi 


3°2 


Miser Hoadley’s Secret 


evidently believing that there might be more jewels to be 
found. Whether any hoard was ever found, has never 
been made known. If the purchasers were sharp enough 
to find anything, they had wit enough to keep the fact 
secret. 

Certainly Marion never troubled herself to inquire. 
Her own fortune — of the existence of which Ralph Geth- 
ing heard with absolutely unbounded surprise — turned out 
even greater than had been anticipated, thanks to the zeal 
and shrewdness shown by a friend who most unexpectedly 
came to her help in the matter — old Ezra Gibeon. He 
had taken a strange liking to Marion at the time of their 
former interview, and when the discovery of Simeon 
Hoadley’s jewels began to be hinted at, he offered to help 
in realizing them. He did the work honestly, and in the 
result gained for her from £3,000 to £4,000 more than was 
expected ; and he followed up his good bargaining by go- 
ing so far as to refuse to accept even a commission for his 
trouble. That this cost him some qualms and pangs is 
more than likely, but his refusal is all the greater tribute 
to the influence which Marion exerted over him. 

So far as James Linnegan was concerned, Marion made 
every effort in her power to atone alike for the suspicion 
she herself had harbored against him, and for the wrongs 
he had suffered at her father’s hands. She insisted on 
paying him in full the amount that had been so long with- 
held by her father, and wished to add to it a very sub- 
stantial portion of her wealth. But Linnegan would not 
accept anything more than the amount to which he felt 
justly entitled, and declared that Marion and Ralph would 
be able to make a better use of the money than he would. 


The End 


3°3 

His life had been soured and saddened by trouble, ill- 
usage, and injustice; and his great desire was to forget all 
the past as quickly as possible. For this purpose he meant 
to return to America, where there was nothing against 
him, as he said, and where he thought he could turn the 
money to the best advantage. Both Marion and Ralph 
tried at first to persuade him to stay in England ; the girl 
pressing it if only to give her an opportunity of making 
up to him, in a measure, what he had suffered. But when 
she saw that he was wishful to go, and that it was a 
trouble to him to have to refuse, she desisted and then 
sought how best to help him in carrying out his project. 

Through Mr. Price, she was able to make some arrange- 
ments to secure an opening for him, which promised well ; 
and as his future was in this way assured, Marion was 
more contented to let him go. 

But she was somehow low-spirited when she and Ralph 
stepped back on to the tender and watched the great liner 
in which he went away, and they strained their eyes to 
catch the last glimpse of him, as he stood waving his 
handkerchief. Pie was at that time the only relation she 
had in the world, and it saddened her a little that they 
should be parted. 

She whispered this to her lover as they stood at the 
side of the tender looking after the fast vanishing ship, 
and Ralph comforted her with such words as only lovers* 
lips can readily frame. 

The feeling of sadness wore off quickly, however, in the 
days of calm, peaceful happiness that followed. Amid 
the trouble and anxiety and excitement of the events 
which had so suddenly changed the whole course and cir- 


304 Miser Hoadley’s Secret 

cumstances of her life, Marion had had little time to spend 
in lamentation for the death of her father, and when the 
time of stress had passed the peace and quiet were so 
welcome, and the prospect of her marriage so close that 
she was very happy. She mourned for her father at 
times, but when Ralph found her sorrowing, and inclined 
to brood over the past, he always strove to lead her to 
brighter thoughts. 

And she loved him so, that he could always succeed. 
She felt a kind of secret reproach for ever having enter- 
tained the doubt of him that at one time had so greatly 
disturbed and distressed her ; and in consequence she was 
always eager to make him amends. The thoughts she 
had for his happiness, the plans she never tired of making 
for his help, the surprises she was always seeking to pre- 
pare for his comfort and the numberless ways in which 
she sought to let him feel the strength and extent of her 
love and care for him, gave her infinite pleasure and occu- 
pation ; and every day and every hour served to bring the 
two more closely together. 

The sense of wealth, however, seemed in some degree 
to oppress her, and she had often to ask herself, and her 
lover also, how it could be employed so as to do the most 
good. This castle-building was also a favorite pleasure 
with her. 

“ No one knows how my poor father may have made the 
money, but at least we will be sure that it is spent 
worthily,” she said, when she and Ralph were alone to- 
gether one evening. “ It is a great responsibility is 
money, Ralph.” 

“ Yes, dear; but not an unbearable one,” he answered, 


T. RACKSOLE 
& DAUGHTER 


OR, THE RESULT OF AN AMERI- 
CAN MILLIONAIRE ORDERING STEAK 
AND A BOTTLE OF BASS AT THE 

GRAND BABYLON HOTEL 

LONDON 


A VERACIOUS HISTORY DULY NARRATED 

By ARNOLD BENNETT 


WITH A BEAUTIFUL COLORED 

FRONTISPIECE 

Richly Bound in Silk Cloth , 

• • $1.50 


A Story full of actuality . . . told with the cun- 
ning of a story teller who knows how to keep his 
readers’ interest alive from the first page to the 
last . — London Times. 

It suggests an odd compound of “ New Ara* 
bian Nights,” “ The Prisoner of Zenda,” “ The 
Mystery of a Hansom Cab.” The reader is bound 
to have a really enjoyable time in following the 
adventures of the new owner of the “ Grand Baby- 
lon.” — Yorkshire Post . 


NEW AMSTERDAM BOOK COMPANY 
156 Fifth Avenue : : New York City 


A Romance of Mary Queen of Scots 


BASILE ^ 
THE JESTER. 

By J. E. MUDDOCK 

Illustrated . Beautifully bound . Cloth, $1,2$ 
or in paper covers , 50 cents 

This is one of thos" picturesque historical romances 
which seem to find favor at the present moment. . . . 
The hero may be depended upon to see that we are 
never bored for even the fraction of a chapter. 


A Powerful and Wierd Detective Story 

Wye CRIME AND 
THE CRIMINAL 

By RICHARD MARSH 

Bound in crimson silk cloth , $1.25; paper 50c. 

One of the wierdest and most powerful detective 
romances ever written. The New York Herald , in 
the course of a long review, says, “Once begun, yon 
will not lay it aside until you reach the end.” 


NEW AMSTERDAM BOOK COMPANY 
156 Fifth Avenue : New York Cinr 


The End 


3°5 


with a smile. “ It’s a heavy load that has a wonderful 
knack of fitting itself into the angles of one’s back, and 
finding out methods of lightening its own weight. Of all 
the burdens I have ever known, this has, I believe, the 
greatest power of adaptability to the bearer’s strength.” 

Marion laughed in a way that was pleasant to hear. 

“ Shall we get used to it, then, Mr. Cynic? ” she asked. 

“ Yes, I think so — between us. I have enough practi- 
cal worldliness about me to keep in check your more in- 
genuous impulses ; and you have the enthusiasm that will 
serve to stir my more sluggish nature. Yes, I think we 
can manage it between us.” 

He looked down at her, and laughed again. 

“ But we must try to use it for the benefit of others as 
well as of ourselves, Ralph. I could not be happy other- 
wise.” 

“ Certainly, Marion, certainly. Heaven forbid that I 
should want you to do anything else. The fortune is 
yours, child ; my fortune is yourself.” 

“ And I shall expect you to take great care of your for- 
tune, too, sir,” she answered, smiling in a way that lighted 
up her face wonderfully. 

“ And with God’s help, my darling, I will always,” and 
he drew her to him, and kissed her long and passionately. 

It was the eve of their wedding-day. 


THE END 


T 

H E 

O 

N E 

T 

O O 

MANY 

A 

LOVE 

: s 

TORT 

By 

MRS. E. LYNN 

LINTON 

Illustrated by 

Edith 

L . Lang 


TO THE 

SWEET GIRLS STILL LEFT AMONG US 
WHO HAVE NO PART IN THE 
NEW REVOLT 
BUT ARE CONTENT TO BE 
DUTIFUL, INNOCENT AND SHELTERED 

This is the charming dedication Mrs. 
Linton gives to her delightful love story, 
an illustrated edition of which has just 
been published by us. The charm and 
daintiness of the story is carried out in 
Miss Lang’s pictures. There are two 
editions of the book, one in a rich 
silk cloth binding at $1.25, and one in 
paper covers at 50 cents. 


NEW AMSTERDAM BOOK COMPANY 
156 Fifth Avenue . ; New York CLy 


A GREAT STORY OF 
ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE 


YIYID 

ABSORB- 

ING 

UNIQUE 



BEYOND THE 
GREAT 
SOUTHWALL 

FRANK- SAVILE 


DRAMATIC 


SNAPPY 


BRILLIANT 


By FRANK SAVILE 

WITH SEVERAL GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS FROM 
PAINTINGS BY R. L. MASON. 

Richly Bound in Cloth, : : 


The style of narration is smooth and fluent . . . 
We cannot help feeling that the book is worth 
reading for the pure sake of the enjoyment thus 
derived . — Book News. 

An absorbing story told simply and eloquent^ 
in exceptionally pure English. — N. Y. Journal. 


NEW AMSTERDAM BOOK COMPANY 
156 Fifth Avenue : : New York City 



CAPTAIN 

FANNY 



A ROMANCE 

By W. CLARK RUSSELL 

Author of “The Copsford Mystery,” “An Ocean Free Lance,” 
“A Sailor’s Sweetheart,” Etc. 


Illustrated and richly bound y - $ 1.25 
Paper covers y - - -50 cents 

There is no living writer who approaches the author in his 
descriptions of scenes at sea j nor, indeed, any dead one. — 
London Standard . 

Now that Wilkie Collins has gone, Mr. Clark Russell is 
probably our greatest living master of the art of narration . — 
London Spectator. 


NEW AMSTERDAM BOOK COMPANY 
ij6 FIFTH AVENUE : NEW YORK 








' . . « ' ,6 



o . - o , * 

o 6 0 * 0 <? *<$>. 

° A **<^n<* ^ 0° * 



° *° ■%. 

4* a 0 (i* * . * C. 1 

A° * ' n 

.4? * V s 


*5°* 



^ S' 

A v** : 

;* & % 1 
° • * * A <* 

.•.'•* *o A $> c o " o * *<$> 




<> •* 


- "’V 

°, • 

: #*\ \ 

' ^ % 

• t * * * ^r 

C° *CW* C 


4°^ 


, wxwr . r*%. . ™ />aar * 

O^ * o N o 9 <0 ^ *»M* ^ 

. * V/* <X A^ p * * O* ^ \JV * 

\ <T 4Va° A* •* 


* ^ % °o 

♦ <$v ^ 


i^*wP ■» <L r «*> • ^ a •* 

"’ T 7VT 4 <6^ % '?.?• A 

• - ^ .cr '*o_ o 

* * 4*„ & .* 




* .♦ V V 


^ t o " ® « %$» 




O % ^ 

o s.o 1 ,0' 

“X a v 

* A*^ * 

Z ^ <? 

° c> v Cp a>-* 

* <*? «£• O ‘v Jj&Yk « A v V. • 

♦ —Or- c"' A V • «% « A V ~ 

•* <(y o *o* k * A ^ ♦Tr'/i* G v 'o 

(0^ # • v 1 * t ”A-J <& c 0 W ° ♦ <£. ■ ^ . 1 . < * *^* 

' - ^ U - /K>2-, -» j“P * «-C^N\. ** *f* / 0 * ‘ 

* * <ssswC* ^ C * 

- ^OK +Mr$ 

K” i° ^ V 




cv <» 

^ ^ * ® « 0 
*££*.% ^ ^ 


• O 

0 *° 

<0 (» ■ - ^ <> 
>-2y *• . si ♦ 




«1 o. 

'•A v» 



o v « * • o, ^ <y • • 




* 'C 


s?V ° 

• 


* V ,o* *o 


*0 . * * 





r , ^V ^ ". 

*4^ „.„ "O 

AT 0 0 1 0 + 

"© » C'S'Wx <► «p 



>° J- 0 •%. v 

‘ «■»'>’ ^0' ^ * 

• ^ ' 4 - aVa*« o a* < * 

« . - v^xxv*-*^ * *\ 


: ** d* 



4? .y^. ^ -.«p ♦ <£ V °oWw 

^ %> '°'‘’ .\^ <0 '*•'..«* . 0 4 *'«».*’ 

‘"Wi% °o A 4 ?*> ,o 4 .• t, *» ^o .4 

*Ml//0b> * ... aN % v> . c ♦ O j*© 



# *p 


^ * *<W^° 4 

‘ *•»*•* <# % 0 „ 0 9# , 0 ° ^ "*,,,•** ^ °0 


■** • 




• w "* ^b 


o 

_ _ . A? *K V 

A V 'T^ « s 'o’.** « 

JS> c°*% ^ o^ *6 <S> 

.••^ift: *+# ”ov' < 


. 0 * 0 A 0 ^ # ^ 

c\ .0 V \> 

\ jf .W/k«, ^ 

/v 4, *V *NP?' a 4 V 

c ° “-J! ' < ^-p '“‘ n^.* 1 "* "*J} 

°*^ik&* ^ 0 < :£miQp* '’bv 4 • 


0 M 0 


l0 *1V®^ 


-. A^ 

H -\ 4 \ 

4> .«*« ''-■'•** 


WERT 

BOOKBiNOINC 

Crantville Pa 
Sep«— Oct 1985 |f 

Were Q«m% Bound 




„ __ *' a 

f" %,*•>'•' s <^ 

s.*Z% > '• * * 


.A 


mn\ 

A V C 



